ChapterIV
TOWARDSMODERNISATION
TheIndustrialRevolution
DisplacingIndigenousPeoples
PathstoModernisation
TOWARDSMODERNISATION
In the previous section you have read about certain crucial developments in the medieval and early
modernworld–feudalism,theEuropeanRenaissance’and the encountersbetweenEuropeans and the
peoples of the Americas. As you would have realised, some of the phenomena that contributed to the
makingofourmodernworldgraduallyevolvedinthisperiod,andespeciallysofromthemid-fifteenth
centuryonwards.Twofurtherdevelopmentsinworldhistorycreatedacontextforwhathasbeencalled
‘modernisation’. These were the Industrial Revolution and a series of political revolutions that
transformed subjects into citizens, beginning with the American Revolution (1776-81) and the French
Revolution(1789-94).
Britainhasbeentheworld’sfirstindustrialnationandyouwillreadabouthowthiscametobeinTheme
9.ForlongitwasbelievedthatBritishindustrialisationprovidedthemodelforindustrialisationinother
countries. The discussion of Theme 9 will show how historians have begun to question some of the
earlierideasabouttheIndustrialRevolution.Eachcountrydrewupontheexperiencesofothernations,
without necessarily reproducing any model. In Britain, for instance, coal and cotton textile industries
weredevelopedinthefirstphaseofindustrialisation,whiletheinventionofrailwaysinitiatedthesecond
stageofthatprocess.InothercountriessuchasRussia,whichbegantoindustrialisemuchlater(fromthe
late nineteenth century onwards), the railway and other heavy industry emerged in the initial phase of
industrialisationitself.Likewise,theroleofthestate,andofbanks,inindustrialisationhasdifferedfrom
countrytocountry.ThetreatmentoftheBritishcaseinTheme9willhopefullywhetyourcuriosityabout
the industrial trajectories of other nations such as the USA and Germany, two significant industrial
powers. Theme 9 also emphasises the human and material costs incurred by Britain on its
industrialisation–theplightofthelabouringpoor,especiallyofchildren,environmentaldegradationand
theconsequentepidemicsofcholeraandtuberculosis.
Linkingtheworld–In1927CharlesLindbergh,twenty-fiveyearsold,flewacrosstheAtlanticOcean,fromNewYorktoParis,ina
single-engineaeroplane.
In Theme 11 you willsimilarly read about industrial pollution andcadmium and mercury poisoningin
Japanthatstirredpeopleintomassmovementsagainstindiscriminateindustrialisation.
Linkingtheworld–J.LipchitzsFigure,sculptedinthe1920s,showstheinfluenceofcentralAfricanstatuary.
European powers began to colonise parts of America and Asia and South Africa well before the
IndustrialRevolution.Theme10tellsyouthestoryofwhatEuropeansettlersdidtothenativepeoplesof
America and Australia. The bourgeois mentality of the settlers made them buy and sell everything,
includinglandandwater.Butthenatives,whoappeareduncivilisedtoEuropeanAmericans,asked,If
youdonotownthefreshnessoftheairandthesparkleofthewater,howcanonebuythem?’Thenatives
didnotfeeltheneedtoownland,fishoranimals.Theyhadnodesiretocommodifythem;ifthingsneeded
tobeexchanged,theycouldsimplybegifted.Quiteobviously,thenativesandtheEuropeansrepresented
competingnotionsofcivilisation.TheformerdidnotallowtheEuropeandelugetowipeouttheircultures
although the US and Canadian governments of the mid-twentieth century desired natives to join the
mainstream’andtheAustralianauthoritiesofthesameperiodattemptedtosimplyignoretheirtraditions
andculture.Onemightwonderwhatismeantbymainstream.Howdoeseconomicandpoliticalpower
influencethemakingof‘mainstreamcultures’?
Western capitalisms – mercantile, industrial and financial – and early twentieth-century Japanese
capitalismcreatedcoloniesinlargepartsofthethirdworld.Someoftheseweresettlercolonies.Others,
suchasBritishruleinIndia,areexamplesofdirectimperialcontrol.Thecaseofnineteenth-andearly
twentieth-centuryChinaillustratesathirdvariantofimperialism.HereBritain,France,Germany,Russia,
AmericaandJapanmeddledinChineseaffairswithoutdirectlytakingoverstatepower.Theyexploited
thecountrysresourcestotheirownadvantage,seriouslycompromisingChinesesovereigntyandreducing
thecountrytothestatusofasemi-colony.
Linkingtheworld–JapaneseZenpaintingslikethisonewereadmiredbywesternartists,andinfluencedthe‘AbstractExpressionist’
styleofpaintinginthe1920sinUSA.
Almost everywhere, colonial exploitation was challenged by powerful nationalist movements.
Nationalisms,however,alsoarosewithoutacolonialcontext,asintheWestorJapan.Allnationalisms
aredoctrinesofpopularsovereignty.Nationalistmovementsbelievethatpoliticalpowershouldrestwith
thepeopleandthisiswhatmakesnationalismamodernconcept.Civicnationalismvestssovereigntyin
allpeopleregardlessoflanguage,ethnicity,religionorgender.Itseekstocreateacommunityofrights-
exercising citizens and definesnationhood in terms of citizenship, not ethnicity or religion. Ethnic and
religious nationalisms try to build national solidarities around a given language, religion or set of
traditions,definingthe peopleethnically,not intermsofcommoncitizenship.Inamulti-ethniccountry,
ethnic nationalists might limit the exercise of sovereignty to a chosen people, often assumed to be
superior to minority communities. Today, most western countries define their nationhood in terms of
commoncitizenshipandnotbycommonethnicity.OneprominentexceptionisGermanywhereideasof
ethnic nationalism have had a long and troubling career going back to the reaction against the French
imperialoccupationofGermanstatesin1806. Ideologiesofcivicnationalismhaveviedwiththoseof
ethnic/religious nationalism the world over and this has been so in modern India, China and Japan as
well.
As with industrialisation, so with paths to modernisation. Different societies have evolved their
distinctive modernities. The Japanese and Chinese cases are very instructive in this regard. Japan
succeeded in remaining free of colonial control and achieved fairly rapid economic and industrial
progress throughout the twentieth century. The rebuilding of the Japanese economy after a humiliating
defeatintheSecondWorldWarshouldnotbeseenasamerepost-warmiracle.AsTheme11shows,it
resulted from certain gains that had already been accomplished in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.Didyouknow,forinstance,thatby1910tuitionfeesforstudyingataprimaryschoolhadmore
orlessendedandenrolmenthadbecomeuniversal?Japanspathtomodernisation,likethatofanyother
country,hashaditsowntensions:thosebetweendemocracyandmilitarism,ethnicnationalismandcivic
nation-buildingandbetweenwhatmanyJapanesedescribeas‘traditionand‘westernisation.
TheChineseresistedcolonialexploitationandtheirownbureaucraticlandedelitethroughacombination
of peasant rebellion, reform and revolution. By the early 1930s, the Chinese Communist Party, which
drewits strength frompeasantmobilisation, hadbegun confronting the imperial powersaswellasthe
Nationalists who represented the countrys elite. It had also started implementing its ideas in selected
pockets of the country. Its egalitarian ideology, stress on land reforms and awareness of womens
problems helped it overthrow foreign imperialism and the Nationalists in 1949. Once in power, it
succeededin reducing inequalities,spreading education and creating political awareness. Even so, the
countryssingle-partyframeworkandstaterepressioncontributedtoconsiderabledissatisfactionwiththe
political systemafter the mid-1960s.But the Chinese Communist Party hasbeen able to retain control
over the country largely because, in embracing certain market principles, it reinvented itself and has
workedhardtotransformChinaintoaneconomicpowerhouse.
Thedifferentwaysinwhichvariouscountrieshaveunderstoodmodernityandsoughttoachieveit,each
inthecontextofitsowncircumstancesandideas,makeafascinatingstory.Thissectionintroducesyouto
someaspectsofthatstory.
Timelineiv(C.1700TO2000)
Thistimelinewillgiveyouanideaofwhatwashappeningindifferentpartsoftheworldinthelastthree
centuries,andhowpeopleindifferentcountriescontributedtothemakingofourmodernworld.Itwill
tellyouabouttheslavetradeinAfricaandtheestablishmentoftheApartheidregimeinSouthAfrica,
aboutsocialmovementsinEuropeandtheformationofnationstates,abouttheexpansionofimperial
powersandtheprocessofcolonisation,andaboutdemocraticandanti-colonialmovementsthatswept
throughtheworldinthelastcentury.Itwillalsorefertosomeoftheinventionsandtechnological
developmentsthatareassociatedwithmodernity.
Aswithalltimelines,thisonefocusesonafewdates.Thereareothersthatareimportant.Whenyouseea
seriesofdatesinatimeline,donotthinkthatthosearetheonlydatesyouneedtoknow.Findoutwhy
differenttimelinesfocusondifferenttypesofdates,andwhatthisselectiontellsus.
Theme9
TheIndustrialRevolution
ThetransformationofindustryandtheeconomyinBritainbetweenthe1780sandthe1850siscalledthe
‘firstindustrialrevolution*.Thishadfar-reachingeffectsinBritain.Later,similarchangesoccurredin
EuropeancountriesandintheUSA.Theseweretohaveamajorimpactonthesocietyandeconomyof
thosecountriesandalsoontherestoftheworld.
This phase of industrial development in Britain is strongly associated with new machinery and
technologies.Thesemadeitpossibletoproduce goodsonamassivescalecomparedto handicraft and
handloom industries. The chapter outlines the changes in the cotton and iron industries. Steam, a new
sourceofpower,begantobeused onawide scale inBritish industries.Itsuseled to faster forms of
transportation, byships andrailways.Many of theinventors and businessmenwho brought aboutthese
changeswereoftenneitherpersonallywealthynoreducatedinbasicscienceslikephysicsorchemistry,
aswillbeseenfromglancesintothebackgroundsofsomeofthem.
Industrialisationledtogreaterprosperityforsome,butintheinitialstagesitwaslinkedwithpoorliving
andworkingconditionsofmillionsofpeople,includingwomenandchildren.Thissparkedoffprotests,
whichforcedthegovernmenttoenactlawsforregulatingconditionsofwork.
The term Industrial Revolution was used by European scholars – Georges Michelet in France and
FriedrichEngelsinGermany.ItwasusedforthefirsttimeinEnglishbythephilosopherandeconomist
Arnold Toynbee (1852-83), to describe the changes that occurred in British industrial development
between1760and1820.ThesedatescoincidedwiththoseofthereignofGeorgeIII,onwhichToynbee
was giving a series of lectures at Oxford University. His lectures were published in 1884, after his
untimelydeath, asabook calledLectures on the Industrial Revolution inEngland: Popular Addresses,
NotesandOtherFragments.
Laterhistorians, T.S. Ashton, PaulMantoux and EricHobsbawm,broadlyagreed with Toynbee.There
wasremarkableeconomicgrowthfromthe1780sto1820inthecottonandironindustries,incoalmining,
in the building of roads and canals and in foreign trade. Ashton (1889-1968)celebrated theIndustrial
Revolution,whenEnglandwas‘sweptbyawaveofgadgets’.
Inthesecondone,afterabout1850,newareaslikethechemicalandelectricalindustriesexpanded.In
thatperiod,Britainfellbehind,andlostitspositionastheworld’sleadingindustrialpower,asitwas
overtakenbyGermanyandtheUSA.
WhyBritain?
Britainwasthefirstcountrytoexperiencemodernindustrialisation.Ithadbeenpoliticallystablesince
theseventeenthcentury,withEngland,WalesandScotlandunifiedunderamonarchy.Thismeantthatthe
kingdomhadcommonlaws,asinglecurrencyandamarketthatwasnotfragmentedbylocalauthorities
levying taxes on goods that passed through their area, thus increasing their price. By the end of the
seventeenthcentury,moneywaswidelyusedasthemediumofexchange.Bythenalargesectionofthe
peoplereceivedtheirincomeintheformofwagesandsalariesratherthaningoods.Thisgavepeoplea
widerchoiceforwaystospendtheirearningsandexpandedthemarketforthesaleofgoods.
In the eighteenth century, England had been through a major economic change, later described as the
‘agriculturalrevolution.Thiswastheprocessbywhichbiggerlandlordshadboughtupsmallfarmsnear
their
ownproperties andenclosedthe village common lands, thus creating very largeestatesand increasing
foodproduction.Thisforcedlandless
farmers,andthosewhohadlivedbygrazinganimalsonthecommonlands,tosearchforjobselsewhere.
Mostofthemwenttonearbytowns.
Towns,TradeandFinance
Fromtheeighteenthcentury,manytownsinEuropeweregrowinginareaandinpopulation.Outofthe19
Europeancitieswhose populationdoubledbetween1750and 1800,11werein Britain.The largestof
themwasLondon,which servedasthe hubofthecountrys markets,with the nextlargestoneslocated
closetoit.
Londonhadalsoacquiredaglobalsignificance.Bytheeighteenthcentury,thecentreofglobaltradehad
shiftedfromtheMediterraneanportsofItalyandFrancetotheAtlanticportsofHollandandBritain.Still
later,LondonreplacedAmsterdamastheprincipalsourceofloansforinternationaltrade.Londonalso
becamethe centre of atriangular trade network thatdrewin England,AfricaandtheWestIndies.The
companies trading in America and Asia also hadtheir officesin London. In England the movement of
goodsbetweenmarketswashelpedbyagoodnetworkofrivers,andanindentedcoastlinewithsheltered
bays.Untilthespreadofrailways,transportbywaterwayswascheaperandfasterthanbyland.Asearly
as1724,Englishriversprovidedsome1,160milesofnavigablewater,andexceptformountainousareas,
mostplacesinthecountrywerewithin15milesof ariver.Since allthenavigablesectionsofEnglish
riversflowintothesea,cargoonrivervesselswaseasilytransferredtocoastalshipscalledcoasters.By
1800,atleast100,000sailorsworkedonthecoasters.
‘Themanofwealthandpride
Takesupaspacethatmanypoorsupplied;
Spaceforhislake,hisparksextendedbounds,
Spaceforhishorses,equipage,andhounds;
Therobethatwrapshislimbsinsilkensloth
Hasrobbedtheneighbouringfieldsofhalftheirgrowth.
OliverGoldsmith(1728-74),TheDesertedVillage.
ThecentreofthecountrysfinancialsystemwastheBankofEngland(foundedin1694).By1784,there
were more than a hundred provincial banks in England, and during the next 10 years their numbers
trebled.Bythe1820s,thereweremorethan600banksintheprovinces,andover100banksinLondon
alone.Thefinancialrequirementstoestablishandmaintainbigindustrialenterprisesweremetbythese
banks.
The industrialisation that occurred in Britain from the 1780s to the 1850s is explained partly by the
factorsdescribedabove–manypoorpeoplefromthevillagesavailabletoworkintowns;bankswhich
couldloanmoneytosetuplargeindustries;andagoodtransportnetwork.
The following pages will describe two new factors: a range of technological changes that increased
productionlevelsdramaticallyandanewtransportnetworkcreatedbytheconstructionofrailways.In
bothdevelopments,ifthedatesarereadcarefully,onewillnoticethatthereisagapofafewdecades
betweenthedevelopmentanditswidespreadapplication.Onemustnotassumethatanewinnovationin
technologyledtoitbeingusedintheindustryimmediately.
Of the 26,000 inventions recorded in the eighteenth century, more than half were listed for the period
1782-1800.Theseledtomanychanges.Weshalldiscussthefourmajorones:thetransformationofthe
ironindustry,thespinningandweavingofcotton,thedevelopmentofsteam‘powerandthecomingofthe
railways.
ACTIVITY1
Discuss the developments in Britain and in other parts of the world in the eighteenth century that
encouragedBritishindustrialisation.
CoalandIron
Englandwasfortunateinthatcoalandironore,thestaplematerialsformechanisation,wereplentifully
available,aswereotherminerals–lead,copperandtin–thatwereusedinindustry.However,untilthe
eighteenthcentury,therewasascarcityofusableiron.Ironisdrawnoutfromoreaspureliquidmetalby
aprocesscalledsmelting.Forcenturies,charcoal(fromburnttimber)wasusedforthesmeltingprocess.
This had several problems: charcoal was too fragile to transport across long distances; its impurities
producedpoor-qualityiron;itwasinshortsupplybecause
forestshadbeendestroyedfortimber;anditcouldnotgeneratehightemperatures.
Coalbrookdale:blast-furnaces(leftandcentre)andcharcoal-ovens(right);paintingbyF.Vivares,1758.
Thesolutiontothisproblemhadbeensoughtforyearsbeforeitwassolvedbyafamilyofiron-masters,
theDarbysofShropshire.Inthecourseofhalfacentury,threegenerationsofthisfamily–grandfather,
father and son, allcalled AbrahamDarby – brought abouta revolution in the metallurgicalindustry. It
beganwithaninventionin1709bythefirstAbrahamDarby(1677-1717).Thiswasablastfurnacethat
wouldusecoke,whichcouldgeneratehightemperatures;cokewasderivedfromcoalbyremovingthe
sulphur and impurities. This invention meant that furnaces no longer had to depend on charcoal. The
meltedironthatemergedfromthesefurnacespermittedfinerandlargercastingsthanbefore.
TheCastIronBridgenearCoalbrookdale,paintingbyWilliamWilliams,1780.
Theprocesswasfurtherrefinedbymoreinventions.The secondDarby (1711-68)developedwrought-
iron (which waslessbrittle)frompig-iron.HenryCort (1740-1823)designedthepuddlingfurnace(in
which molten iron could be rid of impurities) and the rolling mill, which used steam power to roll
purified iron into bars. It now became possible to produce a broader range of iron products. The
durabilityofironmadeitabettermaterialthanwoodforeverydayitemsandformachinery.Unlikewood,
which could burn or splinter, the physical and chemical properties of iron could be controlled. In the
1770s, John Wilkinson(1728-1808)madethefirstiron chairs,vats for breweriesand distilleries, and
iron pipes of all sizes. In 1779, the third Darby (1750-91) built the first iron bridge in the world, in
Coalbrookdale, spanning the river Severn*. Wilkinson used cast iron for the first time to make water
pipes(40milesofitforthewatersupplyofParis).
*ThisarealatergrewintothevillagecalledIronbridge.
Theironindustrythencametobeconcentratedinspecificregionsasintegratedunitsofcoalminingand
ironsmelting.Britainwasluckyinpossessingexcellentcokingcoalandhigh-gradeironoreinthesame
basinsoreventhesameseams.Thesebasinswerealsoclosetoports;therewerefivecoastalcoalfields
which coulddeliver theirproducts almost straightinto ships.Since thecoalfieldswerenearthe coast,
shipbuildingincreased,asdidtheshippingtrade.
Map1:Britain:Theironindustry
TheBritishironindustryquadrupleditsoutputbetween1800and1830,anditsproductwasthecheapest
inEurope.In1820,atonofpigironneeded8tonsofcoaltomakeit,butby1850itcouldbeproducedby
usingonly2tons.By1848,Britainwassmeltingmoreironthantherestoftheworldputtogether.
ACTIVITY2
IronbridgeGorgeistodayamajor‘heritagesite’.
Canyousuggestwhy?
CottonSpinningandWeaving
TheBritishhadalwayswovenclothoutofwoolandflax(tomakelinen).Fromtheseventeenthcentury,
thecountryhadbeenimportingbalesofcottonclothfromIndiaatgreatcost.AstheEastIndiaCompanys
politicalcontrolofpartsofIndiawasestablished,itbegantoimport,alongwithcloth,rawcotton,which
couldbespunandwovenintoclothinEngland.
Till the early eighteenth century, spinning had been so slow and laborious that 10 spinners (mostly
women,hencethewordspinster)wererequiredtosupplysufficientyarntokeepasingleweaverbusy.
Therefore,whilespinnerswereoccupiedallday,weaverswaitedidlytoreceiveyarn.Butaseriesof
technologicalinventionssuccessfullyclosedthegapbetweenthespeedinspinningrawcottonintoyarn
or thread, and of weaving the yarn into fabric. To make it even more efficient, production gradually
shiftedfromthehomesofspinnersandweaverstofactories.
Fromthe1780s,thecottonindustrysymbolisedBritishindustrialisationinmanyways.Thisindustryhad
twofeatureswhichwerealsoseeninotherindustries.
Rawcottonhadtobeentirelyimportedandalargepartofthefinishedclothwasexported.Thissustained
theprocessofcolonisation,sothatBritaincouldretaincontroloverthesourcesofrawcottonaswellas
themarkets.
Manpower(inthispicture,woman-power)workedthetreadmillthatloweredthelidofthecottonpress.
1. The flying shuttle loom, designed by John Kay (1704-64) in 1733 made it possible to weave broader fabrics in less time and
consequentlycalledformoreyarnthancouldbesuppliedattheprevailingpaceofspinning.
2.ThespinningjennywasamachinemadebyJamesHargreaves(1720-78)in1765onwhichasinglepersoncouldspinseveralthreads
ofyarnsimultaneously.Thisprovidedweaverswithyarnatafasterratethantheycouldweaveintofabric.
3.Thewaterframe,whichRichardArkwright(1732-92)inventedin1769,producedamuchstrongerthreadthanbefore.Thisalsomade
itpossibletoweavepurecottonfabricsratherthanfabricsthatcombinedlinenandcottonyarn.
4.Themulewasthenicknameforamachineinventedin1779bySamuelCrompton(1753-1827)thatallowedthespinningofstrongand
fineyarn.
5. The cycle of inventions inthe cotton textile industry that sought tomaintaina balance between the tasks of spinning and weaving
concludedwiththeinventionofthepowerloombyEdmundCartwright(1743-1823)in1787.
This was easyto work, stopped automaticallyevery time a thread broke and couldbe used to weave any kind of material.From the
1830s,developmentsinthisindustryconcentratedonincreasingtheproductivityofworkersratherthanbringingnewmachinesintouse.
Map2:Britain:Thecottonindustry
Theindustrywasheavilydependentontheworkofwomenandchildreninfactories.Thisexemplifiedthe
uglyfaceofearlyindustrialisation,aswillbedescribedbelow.
SteamPower
The realisation that steam could generate tremendous power was decisive to large-scale
industrialisation.Waterashydraulicpowerhadbeentheprimesourceofenergyforcenturies,butithad
beenlimitedtocertainareas,seasonsandbythespeedoftheflowofwater.Nowitwasuseddifferently.
Steampowerprovidedpressureathightemperaturesthatenabledtheuseofabroadrangeofmachinery.
Thismeantthatsteampowerwastheonlysourceofenergythatwasreliableandinexpensiveenoughto
manufacturemachineryitself.
Watt’sinventionswerenotlimitedtothesteamengine.Heinventedachemicalprocessforcopyingdocuments.
He also created a unit of measurement basedon comparingmechanical power with that of the previousuniversal power source, the
horse.Wattsmeasurementunit,horsepower,equatedtheabilityofahorsetolift33,000pounds(14,969kg)
onefoot(0.3m)inoneminute.Horsepowerremainsasauniversallyusedindexof
mechanicalenergy.
Horsesturnedthewheelstogrindmetal.Theuseofsteamreducedthedependenceonmanpowerandhorsepower.
Steampowerwasfirstusedinminingindustries.Asthedemandforcoalandmetalsexpanded,effortsto
obtain them from ever-deeper mines intensified. Flooding in mines was a serious problem. Thomas
Savery(1650-1715)builtamodelsteamenginecalledtheMinersFriendin1698todrainmines.These
enginesworkedslowly,inshallowdepths,andtheboilerburstundertoomuchpressure.
AnothersteamenginewasbuiltbyThomasNewcomen(1663-1729)in1712.Thishadthemajordefectof
losingenergyduetocontinuouscoolingofthecondensingcylinder.
ThesteamenginehadbeenusedonlyincoalminesuntilJamesWatt(1736-1819)developedhismachine
in 1769. Watts invention converted the steam engine from being a mere pump into a prime mover
capable of providing energy to power machines in factories. Backed by the wealthy manufacturer
MatthewBoulton(1728-1809),WattcreatedtheSohoFoundryinBirminghamin1775.Fromthisfoundry
Watt’ssteamengineswereproducedinsteadilygrowingnumbers.Bytheendoftheeighteenthcentury,
Watt’ssteamenginewasbeginningtoreplacehydraulicpower.
After1800,steamenginetechnologywasfurtherdevelopedwiththeuseoflighter,strongermetals,the
manufacture of more accurate machine tools and the spread of better scientific knowledge. In 1840,
Britishsteamenginesweregeneratingmorethan70percentofallEuropeanhorsepower.
CanalsandRailways
Canalswereinitiallybuilttotransportcoaltocities.Thiswasbecausethebulkandweightofcoalmade
itstransportbyroadmuchslowerandmoreexpensivethanbybargesoncanals.Thedemandforcoal,as
industrial energy and for heating and lighting homes in cities, grew constantly. The making of the first
Englishcanal,theWorsleyCanal(1761)byJamesBrindley(1716-72),hadnootherpurposethantocarry
coalfromthecoaldepositsatWorsley(nearManchester)tothatcity;afterthecanalwascompletedthe
priceofcoalfellbyhalf.
Canalswereusuallybuiltbybig landownerstoincreasethevalue ofthemines,quarries or forestson
theirlands.Theconfluenceofcanalscreatedmarketingcentresinnewtowns.ThecityofBirmingham,for
example, owed itsgrowth to itsposition atthe heart of a canal system connecting London, the Bristol
Channel,andtheMerseyandHumberrivers.From1760to1790,twenty-fivenewcanal-buildingprojects
werebegun.Inthe periodknownasthe ‘canal-mania’,from1788to1796, therewereanother46new
projectsandoverthenext60yearsmorethan4,000milesofcanalwerebuilt.
Thefirststeamlocomotive,StephensonsRocket,appearedin1814.Railwaysemergedasanewmeans
of transportation that was available throughout the year, both cheap and fast, to carry passengers and
goods.Theycombinedtwoinventions,theirontrackwhichreplacedthewoodentrackinthe1760s,and
haulagealongitbysteamengine.
The invention of the railways took the entire process of industrialisation to a second stage. In 1801,
RichardTrevithick
(1771-1833)haddevisedanenginecalledthe‘PuffingDevilthatpulledtrucksaroundtheminewherehe
worked in Cornwall. In 1814, the railway engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) constructed a
locomotive,called‘TheBlutcher,thatcouldpullaweightof30tonsupahillat4mph.Thefirstrailway
lineconnectedthecitiesofStocktonandDarlingtonin1825,adistanceof9milesthatwascompletedin
two hours at speeds of up to 24 kph (15 mph), and the next railway line connected Liverpool and
Manchesterin1830.Within20years,speedsof30to50milesanhourwereusual.
In the 1830s, the use of canals revealed several problems. The congestion of vessels made movement
slowoncertainstretchesofcanals,andfrost,floodordroughtlimitedthetimeoftheiruse.Therailways
nowappearedasaconvenientalternative.About6,000milesofrailwaywasopenedinBritainbetween
1830and1850,mostofitintwoshortbursts.Duringthe‘littlerailwaymania’of1833-37,1400milesof
line wasbuilt,and during the bigger mania’ of 1844-47, another 9,500 miles of line was sanctioned.
Theyusedvastamountsofcoalandiron,employedlargenumbersofworkersandboostedactivityinthe
constructionandpublicworksindustries.MostofEnglandhadbeenconnectedbyrailwayby1850.
Whoweretheinventors?
Itisinterestingtofindoutwhotheindividualswerewhobroughtaboutthesechanges.Fewofthemweretrainedscientists.Educationin
basicsciences like physics or chemistrywas extremelylimited until the late nineteenth century, well afterthe technological inventions
described above.Sincethesebreakthroughs did notrequireafull knowledge of the laws of physicsorchemistry on which they were
based,advancescouldbeandweremadebybrilliantbutintuitivethinkersandpersistentexperimenters.Theywerehelpedbythefact
that England had certain features which European countries did not. Dozens of scientific journals and published papers of scientific
societiesappearedinEnglandbetween1760and1800.Therewasawidespreadthirstforknowledgeeveninthesmallertowns.Thiswas
met by the activities of theSociety ofArts (founded in1754), by travelling lecturers, orin coffee houses’ that multipliedthrough the
eighteenthcentury.
Mostinventionsweremoretheproductofdetermination,interest,curiosity,evenluck,thantheapplicationofscientificknowledge.Some
inventors inthecotton industry, likeJohnKayandJamesHargreaves, werefamiliarwith the skillsofweavingandcarpentry.Richard
Arkwright, however, was a barber and wig-maker, Samuel Crompton was not technically skilled, and Edmund Cartwright studied
literature,medicineandagriculture,initiallywishedtobecomeaclergyman,andknewlittleofmechanics.
Bycontrast,intheareaofsteamengines,ThomasSavery,anarmyofficer,ThomasNewcomen,ablacksmithandlocksmith,andJames
Watt,withastrongmechanicalbent,allhadsomeknowledgerelevanttotheirinventions.Theroad-builderJohnMetcalf,whopersonally
surveyedsurfacesforroadsandplannedthem,wasblind.ThecanalbuilderJamesBrindleywasalmostilliterate,withsuchpoorspelling
thathecouldneverspelltheword‘navigation’,buthehadtremendouspowersofmemory,imaginationandconcentration.
ChangedLives
Intheseyears,therefore,itwaspossibleforindividualswithtalenttobringaboutrevolutionarychanges.
Similarly,therewererichindividualswhotookrisksandinvestedmoneyinindustriesinthehopethat
profitscouldbemade,andthattheirmoneywould‘multiply.Inmostcasesthismoney–capital–did
multiply. Wealth, in the form of goods, incomes, services, knowledge and productive efficiency, did
increasedramatically.Therewas,atthesametime,amassivenegativehumancost.Thiswasevidentin
broken families, new addresses, degraded cities and appalling working conditions in factories. The
numberofcitiesinEnglandwithapopulationofover50,000grewfromtwoin1750to29in1850.This
paceofgrowthwasnotmatchedwiththeprovisionofadequatehousing,sanitationorcleanwaterforthe
rapidlygrowingurbanpopulation.
Farleft:Coalbrookdale,Carpenters’Row,cottagesbuiltbythecompanyforworkersin1783.
Left:ThehousesoftheDarbys;paintingbyWilliamWestwood,1835.
*ThegatesofHell.
Newcomers were forced to live in overcrowded slums in the congested central areas of towns near
factories, while the rich inhabitants escaped, by shifting to homes in the suburbs where the air was
cleanerandthewatersafetodrink.
EdwardCarpentereloquentlydescribedsuchcitiesinabout1881,inhispoem‘InaManufacturingTown’
‘AsIwalkedrestlessanddespondentthroughthegloomycity,
Andsawtheeagerunrestingtoandfro–asofghostsinsomesulphurousHades*
Andsawthecrowdsoftallchimneysgoingup,andthepallofsmoke
coveringthesun,coveringtheearth,lyingheavyagainstthevery
ground–
Andsawthehuge-refuseheapswrithingwithchildrenpickingthemover,
Andtheghastlyhalf-rooflesssmoke-blackenedhouses,andtheblack
riverflowingbelow,
AsIsawthese,andasIsawagainfarawaytheCapitalistquarter,
Withitsvillaresidencesanditshigh-walledgardensandits
well-appointedcarriages,anditsfaceturnedawayfromthewriggling
povertywhichmadeitrich,
Ishuddered.
TheWorkers
Asurveyin1842revealedthattheaveragelifespanofworkerswaslowerthanthatofanyothersocial
groupincities:itwas15yearsinBirmingham,17inManchester,21inDerby.Morepeopledied,and
died at a younger age, in the new industrial cities, than in the villages they had come from. Half the
childrenfailedtosurvivebeyondtheageoffive.Theincreaseinthepopulationofcitieswasbecauseof
immigrants,ratherthanbyanincreaseinthenumberofchildrenborntofamilieswhoalreadylivedthere.
Deaths were primarily caused by epidemics of disease that sprang from the pollution of water, like
choleraandtyphoid,oroftheair,liketuberculosis.Morethan31,000peoplediedfromanoutbreakof
cholerain1832.Untillateinthenineteenthcentury,municipalauthoritieswerenegligentinattendingto
thesedangerousconditionsoflifeandthemedicalknowledgetounderstandandcurethesediseaseswas
unknown.
Women,ChildrenandIndustrialisation
TheIndustrialRevolutionwasatimeofimportantchangesinthewaythatchildrenandwomenworked.
Childrenoftheruralpoorhadalwaysworkedathomeorinthefarmatjobsthatvariedduringthedayor
between seasons, under the watchful eye of parents or relatives. Likewise, in villages women were
actively involved in farm work; they reared livestock, gathered firewood and spun yarn on spinning
wheelsintheirhomes.
Work in the factories,with long, unbroken hours of the samekind of work, under strict disciplineand
sharp forms of punishment, was completely different. The earnings of women and children were
necessarytosupplementmensmeagrewages.Astheuseofmachineryspread,andfewerworkerswere
needed,industrialistspreferred toemploywomenandchildren who wouldbe less agitatedabouttheir
poorworkingconditionsandworkforlowerwagesthanmen.
Womaningilt-buttonfactory,Birmingham.Inthe1850s,two-thirdsoftheworkforceinthebuttontradewerewomenandchildren.
Menreceived25shillingsaweek,women7shillingsandchildrenoneshillingeach,forthesamehoursofwork.
TheywereemployedinlargenumbersinthecottontextileindustryinLancashireandYorkshire.Women
were also the main workers in the silk, lace-making and knitting industries, as well as (along with
children)inthemetalindustriesofBirmingham.Machinerylikethecottonspinningjennywasdesignedto
be used by child workers with their small build and nimble fingers. Children were often employed in
textile factories because they were smallenough tomove between tightly packed machinery. The long
hours of work, including cleaning the machines on Sundays, allowed them little fresh air or exercise.
Children caught their hair in machines or crushed their hands, while some died when they fell into
machinesastheydroppedofftosleepfromexhaustion.
Coalmineswerealsodangerousplacestoworkin.Roofscavedinortherecouldbeanexplosion,and
injuries were thereforecommon. The owners of coalmines used children toreach deep coal faces or
those wheretheapproach pathwastoonarrowforadults.Youngerchildren workedastrappers who
openedandshutdoorsasthecoalwagonstravelledthroughmines,orcarriedheavyloadsofcoalontheir
backsas‘coalbearers.’
AlaneinthepoorerquartersofLondon;engravingbytheFrenchartistDore,1876.
Factorymanagersconsideredchildlabourtobeimportanttrainingforfuturefactorywork.Theevidence
fromBritish factory recordsrevealsthatabouthalf ofthe factory workershad started workwhen they
werelessthan ten years old and 28percent when they wereunder14. Women may well havegained
increasedfinancialindependenceand self-esteemfrom their jobs; butthis was morethan offsetby the
humiliating terms of work they endured, the children they lost at birth or in early childhood and the
squalidurbanslumsthatindustrialworkcompelledthemtolivein.
InhisnovelHardTimes,CharlesDickens(1812-70),perhapsthemostseverecontemporarycriticofthehorrorsofindustrialisationfor
thepoor,wroteafictionalaccountofanindustrialtownheaptlycalledCoketown.‘Itwasatownofredbrick,orofbrickthatwould
havebeenredifthesmokeandasheshadallowedit;butasmattersstooditwasatownofunnaturalredandblacklikethepaintedface
ofasavage.Itwasatownofmachineryandtallchimneys,outofwhichinterminableserpentsofsmoketrailedthemselvesforeverand
ever,andnevergotuncoiled.Ithadablackcanalinit,andariverthatranpurplewithill-smellingdye,andvastpilesofbuildingfullof
windowswheretherewasarattlingandatremblingalldaylong,andwherethepistonofthesteam-engineworkedmonotonouslyupand
down,liketheheadofanelephantinastareofmelancholymadness.
D.H.Lawrence(1885-1930),Britishessayistand novelist,writing seventyyearsafter Dickens,described thechangein a villageinthe
coal-belt,changewhichhehadnotexperienced,butaboutwhichhehadheardfromolderpeople.
‘Eastwood…musthavebeenatinyvillageatthebeginningofthenineteenthcentury,asmallplaceofcottagesandfragmentaryrowsof
littlefour-roomedminers’dwellings,thehomesoftheoldcolliers…Butsomewhereabout1820thecompanymusthavesunkthefirstbig
shaft…andinstalledthefirstmachineryoftherealindustrialcolliery…Mostofthelittlerowsofdwellingswerepulleddown,anddulllittle
shops began to rise along the Nottingham Road, while on the down-slope…the company erected what is still known as the New
Buildings…littlefour-roomhouseslookingoutwardintothegrim,blankstreet,andthebacklookingintothedesertofthesquare,shutin
likeabarracksenclosure,verystrange.
ACTIVITY3
Discuss the effects of early industrialisation on British towns and villages, and
comparethesewithsimilarsituationsinIndia.
ProtestMovements
Theearlydecadesofindustrialisationcoincidedwiththespreadofnewpoliticalideaspioneeredbythe
French Revolution (1789-94). The movements for liberty, equality and fraternity showed the
possibilities of collective mass action, both in creating democratic institutions like the French
parliamentary assemblies of the 1790s, and in checking the worst hardships of war by controlling the
prices of necessities like bread. In England, political protest against the harsh working conditions in
factories kept increasing, and the working population agitated to be given the right to vote. The
governmentreactedbyrepressionandbynewlawsthatdeniedpeopletherighttoprotest.
EnglandhadbeenatwarwithFranceforalongtime–from1792to1815.TradebetweenEnglandand
Europe was disrupted, factories were forced to shut down, unemployment grew and the price of
essentialitemsoffood,likebreadandmeat,soaredtoheightsbeyondthelevelofaveragewages.
Parliamentin1795passedtwoCombinationActswhichmadeitillegalto‘incitethepeoplebyspeechor
writingtohatredorcontemptoftheKing,ConstitutionorGovernment’;andbannedunauthorisedpublic
meetings of over 50 persons. Protest, nonetheless, continued against Old Corruption. This term was
used for privileges linked to the monarchy and Parliament. Members of Parliament – landowners,
manufacturersandprofessionals–wereopposedtogivingtheworkingpopulationtherighttovote.They
supportedtheCornLaws,whichpreventedtheimportofcheaperfooduntilpricesinBritainhadrisento
acertainlevel.
Asworkersfloodedtownsandfactories,theyexpressedtheirangerandfrustrationinnumerousformsof
protest.Therewerebreadorfoodriotsthroughoutthecountryfromthe1790sonwards.Breadwasthe
stapleiteminthedietofthepooranditspricegovernedtheirstandardofliving.Stocksofbreadwere
seizedandsoldatapricethatwasaffordableandmorallycorrectratherthanatthehighpriceschargedby
profit-hungry traders. Such riotswere particularly frequent in the worst year of the war,1795, butthey
continueduntilthe1840s.
Anothercauseofhardshipwastheprocessknownas‘enclosure–bywhich,fromthe1770s,hundredsof
smallfarmshadbeenmergedintothelargeronesofpowerfullandlords.Poorruralfamiliesaffectedby
thishadsoughtindustrialwork.Buttheintroductionofmachinesinthecottonindustrythrewthousandsof
handloom weavers out of work and into poverty, since their labour was too slow to compete with
machines.Fromthe1790s,theseweaversbegantodemandalegalminimumwage,whichwasrefusedby
Parliament.Whentheywentonstrike,theyweredispersedbyforce.Indesperation,inLancashire,cotton
weaversdestroyedthepowerloomswhichtheybelievedhaddestroyedtheirlivelihood.Therewasalso
resistance to the introduction ofmachines in thewoollen knitting industry in Nottingham; protests also
tookplaceinLeicestershireandDerbyshire.
InYorkshire,shearing-framesweredestroyedbycroppers,whohadtraditionallyshearedsheepbyhand.
In the riots of 1830, farm labourers found their jobs threatened by the new threshing machines that
separatedthegrainfromthehusk.Therioterssmashedthesemachines.Nineofthemwerehangedand450
weresenttoAustraliaasconvicts(seeTheme10).
The movement known as Luddism (1811-17), led by the charismatic General Ned Ludd, exemplified
anothertypeofprotest.Luddismwasnotmerelyabackward-lookingassaultonmachines.Itsparticipants
demandedaminimumwage,controloverthelabourofwomenandchildren,workforthosewhohadlost
theirjobsbecauseofthecomingofmachinery,andtherighttoformtradeunionssothattheycouldlegally
presentthesedemands.
Duringtheearlyyearsofindustrialisation, theworkingpopulationpossessedneitherthe votenorlegal
methodstoexpresstheirangeratthedrasticmannerinwhichtheirliveshadbeenoverturned.InAugust
1819,80,000peoplegatheredpeacefullyatStPetersFieldsinManchestertoclaimdemocraticrights
of political organisation, of public meetings, and of the freedom of the press. They were suppressed
brutallyinwhatbecameknownasthePeterloo*Massacreandtherightstheydemandedweredeniedby
the Six Acts, passed by Parliamentthesame year. These extended the restrictions on political activity
introducedinthetwoCombinationActsof1795.Butthereweresomegains.AfterPeterloo,theneedto
make the House of Commons more representative was recognised by liberal political groups, and the
CombinationActswererepealedin1824-25.
*Thisnamewasmadeuptorhymewith‘Waterloo’;theFrencharmyhadbeendefeatedatWaterlooin1815.
ReformsthroughLaws
Howattentivewasthegovernmenttotheconditionsofworkofwomenandchildren?Lawswerepassed
in1819prohibitingtheemploymentofchildrenundertheageofnineinfactoriesandlimitingthehoursof
workof thosebetweentheagesof nine andsixteento12hoursa day. But this lawlacked thepowers
neededforitsenforcement.Itwasnotuntil1833,afterintenseprotestbyworkersthroughoutthenorthof
England,thatanActwaspassedthatpermittedchildrenunderninetobeemployedonlyinsilkfactories,
limitedthehoursofworkforolderchildrenandprovidedanumberoffactoryinspectorstoensurethatthe
Actwasenforced.Finally,in1847,aftermorethan30yearsofagitation,theTenHours’Billwaspassed.
Thislimitedthehoursofworkforwomenandyoungpeople,andsecureda10-hourdayformaleworkers.
ACTIVITY4
Argue the case for and against government regulation of conditions of work in
industries.
TheseActsappliedtothetextileindustriesbutnottotheminingindustry.TheMinesCommissionof1842,
setupbythegovernment,revealedthatworkingconditionsinmineshadactuallybecomeworsesincethe
Actof1833,becausemorechildrenhadbeenputtoworkincoalmines.TheMinesandCollieriesActof
1842bannedchildrenundertenandwomenfromworkingunderground.FieldersFactoryActlaiddown
in1847thatchildrenundereighteenandwomenshouldnotworkmorethan10hoursaday.Theselaws
weretobeenforcedbyfactoryinspectors,butthiswasdifficulttodo.Theinspectorswerepoorlypaid
andeasilybribedbyfactorymanagers,whileparentsliedabouttherealagesoftheirchildren,sothatthey
couldworkandcontributetofamilyincomes.
TheDebateonthe‘IndustrialRevolution
Untilthe1970s,historiansusedthetermindustrialrevolutionforthechangesthatoccurredinBritain
fromthe1780stothe1820s.Fromthen,itwaschallenged,onvariousgrounds.
Industrialisationhadactuallybeentoogradualtobeconsidereda‘revolution.Itcarriedprocessesthat
already existed towards new levels. Thus, there was a relatively greater concentration of workers in
factories,andawideruseofmoney.
Untilwellintothenineteenthcentury,largeregionsofEnglandremaineduntouchedbyfactoriesormines
and therefore the term industrial revolution was regarded as inaccurate: England had changed in a
regionalmanner,prominentlyaroundthecitiesofLondon,Manchester,BirminghamorNewcastle,rather
thanthroughoutthecountry.
Couldthegrowthinthecottonorironindustriesorinforeigntradefromthe1780stothe1820sbecalled
revolutionary?Theimpressivegrowthofcottontextiles,basedonnewmachinery,wasinanindustrythat
reliedonanon-Britishrawmaterial,onsalesabroad(especiallyIndia),onnon-metallicmachinery,and
withfewlinkstootherbranchesof industry.Metallicmachineryandsteampowerwasrareuntilmuch
laterinthenineteenthcentury.TherapidgrowthinBritishimportsandexportsfromthe1780soccurred
because of the resumption of trade with North America that the War of American Independence had
interrupted.Thisgrowthwasrecordedasbeingsharponlybecauseitstartedfromalowpoint.
Indicatorsofeconomicchangeoccurringbeforeandafter1815-20suggestthatsustainedindustrialisation
wastobeseenafterratherthanbeforethesedates.Thedecadesafter1793hadexperiencedthedisruptive
effectsoftheFrenchRevolutionaryandNapoleonicWars.Industrialisationisassociatedwithagrowing
investment of the countrys wealth in ‘capital formation, or building infrastructure and installing new
machinery,andwithraising the levelsof efficientuse ofthesefacilities, and with raisingproductivity.
Productiveinvestment,inthesesenses,grewsteadilyonlyafter1820,asdidlevelsofproductivity.The
cotton,ironandengineeringindustrieshadaccountedforlessthanhalfoftheindustrialoutputuntilthe
1840s.Technicalprogresswasnotlimitedtothesebranches,butwasvisibleinotherbranchestoo,like
agriculturalprocessingandpottery.
In searching for an answer as to why British growth may have been faster after 1815 than before,
historians have pointed to the fact that from the 1760s to 1815, Britain tried to do two things
simultaneously – to industrialise, and to fight wars in Europe, North America and India – and it may
possibly havefailed with one. Britain was atwarfor 36 out of 60 yearsfrom 1760.Capitalthat was
borrowedwasusedtofightthewarsratherthaninvested.Asmuchas35percentofthecostofthewar
was metby taxing people’s incomes.Workers weretransferred outof factories and farms to the army.
Foodpricesroseso sharplythat the poorhadlittlemoney leftfor buying consumergoods.Napoleon’s
policies of blockade, and British reactions to them, closed the European continent, the destination for
morethanhalfofBritishexports,toBritishtraders.
Theword‘industrialusedwiththeword‘revolutionistoolimited.Thetransformationextendedbeyond
theeconomicorindustrialsphereandintosocietyandgaveprominencetotwoclasses:thebourgeoisie
andthenewclassofproletarianlabourersintownsandinthecountryside.
In1851,visitorsthrongedtheGreatExhibitionatthespeciallyconstructedCrystalPalaceinLondonto
viewtheachievementsofBritishindustry.Atthattime,halfthepopulationwaslivingintowns,butofthe
workers in towns as many were in handicraft units as in factories. From the 1850s, the proportion of
people living in urban areas went up dramatically, and most of these were workers in industry – the
working class. Only 20percent ofBritains workforcenow lived inruralareas. This was afarmore
rapidrateofindustrialisationthanhadbeenwitnessedinotherEuropeancountries.Inhisdetailedstudy
ofBritishindustry,thehistorianA.E.Mussonhassuggestedthat‘Therearegoodgroundsforregardingthe
period 1850-1914 as that in which the Industrial Revolution really occurred, on a massive scale,
transformingthewholeeconomyandsocietymuchmorewidelyanddeeplythantheearlierchangeshad
done.’
TheGreatExhibitionof1851displayedtheWorksofIndustryofallNations”,particularlythespectacularprogressofBritain.It
washeldinLondon’sHydePark,intheCrystalPalace,madeofglasspanessetinironcolumnsmanufacturedinBirmingham.
Exercises
Answerinbrief
1.HowdidBritainsinvolvementinwarsfrom1793to1815affectBritishindustries?
2.Whatweretherelativeadvantagesofcanalandrailwaytransportation?
3.Whatweretheinterestingfeaturesofthe‘inventionsofthisperiod?
4.IndicatehowthesupplyofrawmaterialsaffectedthenatureofBritishindustrialisation.
Answerinashortessay
5.HowwerethelivesofdifferentclassesofBritishwomenaffectedbytheIndustrialRevolution?
6.Comparetheeffectsofthecomingoftherailwaysindifferentcountriesintheworld.
DisplacingIndigenousPeoples
This chapter recounts some aspects of the histories of the native peoples of America and Australia.
Theme8describedthehistoryofthe Spanish and Portuguesecolonisation ofSouth America.Fromthe
eighteenth century, more areas of South America, Central America, North America, South Africa,
AustraliaandNewZealandcametobesettledbyimmigrantsfromEurope.Thisledtomanyofthenative
peoples beingpushedoutintootherareas.TheEuropeansettlementswerecalledcolonies’.Whenthe
European inhabitants of the colonies became independent of the European mother-country, these
coloniesbecame‘states’orcountries.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, people from Asian countries also migrated to some of these
countries.Today,theseEuropeansandAsiansformthemajorityinthesecountries,andthenumberofthe
nativeinhabitantsareverysmall.Theyarehardlyseeninthetowns,andpeoplehaveforgottenthatthey
once occupied much of the country, and that the names of many rivers, towns, etc. are derived from
‘native’names(e.g.Ohio,MississippiandSeattleintheUSA,SaskatchewaninCanada,Wollongongand
ParramattainAustralia).
Tillthemiddleofthetwentiethcentury,AmericanandAustralianhistorytextbooksusedtodescribehow
Europeansdiscovered’theAmericasandAustralia.Theyhardlymentionedthenativepeoplesexceptto
suggestthattheywerehostiletoEuropeans.Thesepeopleswere,however,studiedbyanthropologistsin
Americafromthe1840s.Muchlater,fromthe1960s,thenativepeopleswereencouragedtowritetheir
ownhistoriesortodictatethem(thisiscalledoralhistory).
Today,it ispossible toreadhistoricalworks andfictionwrittenby thenative peoples,andvisitorsto
museums in these countries will see galleries of ‘native art and special museums which show the
aboriginalwayoflife.ThenewNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndianintheUSAhasbeencuratedby
AmericanIndiansthemselves.
EuropeanImperialism
TheAmericanempiresofSpainandPortugal(seeTheme8)didnotexpandaftertheseventeenthcentury.
Fromthattimeothercountries–France,HollandandEngland–begantoextendtheirtradingactivities
andtoestablishcolonies–inAmerica,AfricaandAsia;IrelandalsowasvirtuallyacolonyofEngland,
asthelandownersthereweremostlyEnglishsettlers.
From the eighteenth century, it became obvious that while it was the prospect of profit which drove
peopletoestablishcolonies,thereweresignificantvariationsinthenatureofthecontrolestablished.
In South Asia, trading companieslike the East India Company made themselves into politicalpowers,
defeatedlocalrulersandannexedtheirterritories.Theyretainedtheolderwell-developedadministrative
system and collected taxesfromlandowners. Later they built railways to maketradeeasier, excavated
minesandestablishedbigplantations.
InAfrica,Europeanstradedonthecoast,exceptinSouthAfrica,andonlyinthelatenineteenthcentury
did they venture into the interior. After this, some of the European countries reached an agreement to
divideupAfricaascoloniesforthemselves.
The word ‘settler is used for the Dutch in South Africa, the British in Ireland, New Zealand and
Australia,andtheEuropeansinAmerica.TheofficiallanguageinthesecolonieswasEnglish(exceptin
Canada,whereFrenchisalsoanofficiallanguage).
NamesgivenbyEuropeanstoCountriesofthe‘NewWorld
‘AmericaFirstusedafterthepublicationofthetravelsofAmerigoVespucci(1451-1512)
‘Canada’fromkanata(=‘villageinthelanguageoftheHuron-Iroquois,asheardbytheexplorerJacquesCartierin1535)
‘AustraliaSixteenth-centurynameforlandintheGreatSouthernOcean(australisLatinfor‘south’)
‘NewZealandNamegivenbyTasmanofHolland,whowasthefirsttosighttheseislandsin1642(zeeisDutchfor‘sea’)
TheGeographicalDictionary(pp805-22)listsoverahundredplace-namesintheAmericasandAustraliawhichbeginwith‘New’.
NorthAmerica
ThecontinentofNorthAmericaextendsfromtheArcticCircletotheTropicofCancer,fromthePacific
totheAtlanticOcean.WestofthechainoftheRockyMountainsisthedesertofArizonaandNevada,still
furtherwesttheSierraNevadamountains,totheeasttheGreatPlains,theGreatLakes,thevalleysofthe
Mississippi and the Ohio and the Appalachian Mountains. To the south is Mexico. Forty per cent of
Canadaiscoveredwithforests.Oil,gasandmineralresourcesarefoundinmanyareas,whichexplains
themanybigindustriesintheUSAandCanada.Today,wheat,cornandfruitaregrownextensivelyand
fishingisamajorindustryinCanada.
Mining,industryandextensiveagriculturehavebeendevelopedonlyinthelast200yearsbyimmigrants
from Europe, Africa and China. But there were people who had been living in North America for
thousandsofyearsbeforetheEuropeanslearntofitsexistence.
TheNativePeoples
TheearliestinhabitantsofNorthAmericacamefromAsiaover30,000yearsagoonaland-bridgeacross
the Bering Straits, and during the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago they moved further south. The oldest
artefactfoundinAmerica–anarrow-point–is11,000yearsold.Thepopulationstartedtoincreaseabout
5,000yearsagowhentheclimatebecamemorestable.
‘Native’meansapersonbornintheplacehe/shelivesin.Tilltheearlytwentiethcentury,thetermwas
usedbyEuropeanstodescribetheinhabitantsofcountriestheyhadcolonised.
‘Atsunseton the daybeforeAmerica[thatis,before theEuropeansreachedthereand gavethecontinentthis name],diversitylayat
every hand. People spoke in more than a hundred tongues. They lived by every possible combination of hunting, fishing, gathering,
gardening,andfarmingopentothem.Thequalityofsoilsandtheeffortrequiredtoopenandtendthemdeterminedsomeoftheirchoices
ofhowtolive.Culturalandsocialbiasesdeterminedothers.Surplusesoffishorgrainorgardenplantsormeatshelpedcreatepowerful,
tieredsocietiesherebutnotthere.Somecultureshadenduredformillennia…’–WilliamMacleish,TheDaybeforeAmerica.
These peoples lived in bands, in villages along river valleys. They ate fish and meat, and cultivated
vegetablesandmaize.Theyoftenwentonlongjourneysinsearchofmeat,chieflythatofbison,thewild
buffalo that roamed the grasslands (this became easier from the seventeenth century, when the natives
startedtoridehorses,whichtheyboughtfromSpanishsettlers).Buttheyonlykilledasmanyanimalsas
theyneededforfood.
Theydidnotattemptextensiveagricultureandsincetheydidnotproduceasurplus,theydidnotdevelop
kingdomsandempiresasinCentralandSouthAmerica.Thereweresomeinstancesofquarrelsbetween
tribesoverterritory,butbyandlargecontroloflandwasnotanissue.Theywerecontentwiththefood
and shelter they got from the land without feeling any need to own it. An important feature of their
traditionwasthatofmakingformalalliancesandfriendships,andexchanginggifts.Goodswereobtained
notbybuyingthem,butasgifts.
Wampumbelts,madeofcolouredshellssewntogether,wereexchangedbynativetribesafteratreatywasagreedto.
NumerouslanguageswerespokeninNorthAmerica,thoughthesewerenotwrittendown.Theybelieved
thattimemovedincycles,andeachtribehadaccountsabouttheiroriginsandtheirearlierhistorywhich
were passed on from one generation to the next. They were skilled craftspeople and wove beautiful
textiles.Theycouldreadtheland–theycouldunderstandtheclimatesanddifferentlandscapesintheway
literatepeoplereadwrittentexts.
EncounterswithEuropeans
DifferenttermsareusedinEnglishforthenativepeoplesofthe‘NewWorld’
aborigine–nativepeopleofAustralia(inLatin,ab=from,origine=thebeginning)
Aboriginal–adjective,oftenmisusedasanoun
American Indian/Amerind/Amerindian – native peoples of North and South America and the
Caribbean
First Nations peoples – the organised native groups recognised by the Canadian government (the
IndiansActof1876usedtheterm‘bands’butfromthe1980stheword‘nationsisused)
indigenouspeople–peoplebelongingnaturallytoaplace
nativeAmerican–theindigenouspeopleoftheAmericas(thisisthetermnowcommonlyused)
‘RedIndian–thebrown-complexionedpeoplewhoselandColumbusmistookforIndia
AwomanoftheWinnebagotribeofWisconsin.Inthe1860s,peopleofthistribeweremovedtoNebraska
Namesofnativetribesareoftengiventothingsunconnectedwiththem:Dakota(anaeroplane),Cherokee
(ajeep),Pontiac(acar),
Mohawk(ahaircut)!
‘ItwasindicatedonthestonetabletsthattheHopis*hadthatthefirstbrothersandsistersthatwouldcomebacktothemwouldcomeas
turtlesacrosstheland.Theywouldbehumanbeings,buttheywouldcomeasturtles.SowhenthetimecameclosetheHopiswereata
specialvillagetowelcometheturtlesthatwouldcomeacrossthelandandtheygotupinthemorningandlookedoutatthesunrise.They
lookedoutacrossthedesertandtheysawtheSpanishConquistadorescoming,coveredinarmour,liketurtlesacrosstheland.Sothiswas
them.SotheywentouttotheSpanishmanandtheyextendedtheir hand hopingforthehandshakebutintothe hand theSpanishman
dropped a trinket. And so word spread throughout North America that there was going to be a hard time, that maybe some of the
brothersandsistershadforgottenthesacrednessofallthingsandallthehumanbeingsweregoingtosufferforthisontheearth.’
FromatalkbyLeeBrown,1986
*TheHopisareanativetribewhonowlivenearCalifornia.
In the seventeenth century, the European traders who reached thenorth coast of North America after a
difficulttwo-monthvoyagewererelievedtofindthenativepeoplesfriendlyandwelcoming.Unlikethe
SpanishinSouthAmerica,whowereovercomebytheabundanceofgoldinthecountry,theseadventurers
cametotradeinfishandfurs,inwhichtheygotthewillinghelpofthenativeswhowereexpertathunting.
Further south, along the Mississippi river, the French found that the natives held regular gatherings to
exchangehandicraftsuniquetoatribeorfooditemsnotavailableinotherregions.Inexchangeforlocal
productstheEuropeansgave the nativesblankets,iron vessels(whichtheyusedsometimesin placeof
theirclaypots),guns,whichwasausefulsupplementforbowsandarrowstokillanimals,andalcohol.
Thislastitemwassomethingthe nativeshadnot known earlier,andtheybecameaddictedtoit,which
suitedtheEuropeans,becauseitenabledthemtodictatetermsoftrade.(TheEuropeansacquiredfromthe
nativesanaddiction
totobacco.)
MutualPerceptions
Intheeighteenthcentury,westernEuropeansdefinedcivilised’peopleintermsofliteracy,anorganised
religionandurbanism.Tothem,thenativesofAmericaappeareduncivilised’.Tosome,liketheFrench
philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, such people were to be admired, as they were untouched by the
corruptionsof‘civilisation.Apopulartermwas‘thenoblesavage’.SomelinesinapoembytheEnglish
poet William Wordsworth indicate another perspective. Neither he nor Rousseau had met a native
American, but Wordsworth described them as living ‘amid wilds/Where fancy hath small liberty to
grace/Theaffections,toexaltthemorrefine’,meaningthatpeoplelivingclosetonaturehadonlylimited
powersofimaginationandemotion!
Itisinterestingtonotethatanotherwriter,WashingtonIrving,muchyoungerthanWordsworthandwhohadactuallymetnativepeople,
describedthemquitedifferently.
‘TheIndiansIhavehadanopportunityofseeinginreallifearequitedifferentfromthosedescribedinpoetry…Taciturntheyare,itis
true,whenincompanywithwhitemen,whosegoodwilltheydistrustandwhoselanguagetheydonotunderstand;butthewhitemanis
equally taciturn under like circumstances. When the Indians are among themselves, they are great mimics, and entertain themselves
excessivelyattheexpenseofthewhites…whohavesupposedthemimpressedwithprofoundrespectfortheirgrandeuranddignity
Thewhitemen(asIhavewitnessed)arepronetotreatthepoorIndiansaslittlebetterthananimals.
ThomasJefferson,thirdPresidentoftheUSA,andacontemporaryofWordsworth,spokeofthenativesinwordsthatwouldleadtoa
publicoutcrytoday:
‘Thisunfortunateracewhichwehavebeentakingsomuchpainstocivilise…havejustifiedextermination.’
To the natives, the goods they exchanged with the Europeans were gifts, given in friendship. For the
Europeans,dreamingofbecomingrich,thefishandfurswerecommodities,whichtheywouldsellfora
profitinEurope.Thepricesofthegoodstheysoldvariedfromyeartoyear,dependingonthesupply.The
natives could not understand this – they had no sense of the ‘market in faraway Europe. They were
puzzledby the factthattheEuropeantraderssometimesgavethemalot ofthingsinexchangefor their
goods, sometimes very little. They were also saddened by the greed of the Europeans*. In their
impatience to get furs, they had slaughtered hundreds of beavers, and the natives were very uneasy,
fearingthattheanimalswouldtakerevengeonthemforthisdestruction.
FollowingthefirstEuropeans,whoweretraders,werethosewhocametosettle’inAmerica.Fromthe
seventeenthcentury,thereweregroupsofEuropeanswhowerebeingpersecutedbecausetheywereofa
different sect of Christianity (Protestants living in predominantly Catholic countries, or Catholics in
countrieswhereProtestantismwastheofficialreligion).ManyofthemleftEuropeandwenttoAmerica
tobeginanewlife.Aslongastherewasvacantland,thiswasnotaproblem,butgraduallytheEuropeans
movedfurtherinland,nearnativevillages.Theyusedtheirirontoolstocutdownforeststolayoutfarms.
*Many folk tales of the natives mocked Europeans and described them as greedy and deceitful, but because these were told as
imaginarystories,itwasonlymuchlaterthattheEuropeansunderstoodthereferences.
Natives and Europeans saw different things when they looked at forests – natives identified tracks
invisible to the Europeans. Europeans imagined the forests cut down and replaced by cornfields.
Jeffersons ‘dream was a country populated by Europeans with small farms. The natives, who grew
crops for their own needs, not for sale and profit, and thought it wrong to own’ the land, could not
understandthis.InJeffersonsview,thismadethem‘uncivilised’.
ACTIVITY1
DiscussthedifferentimagesthatEuropeansandnativeAmericanshadofeachother,
andthedifferentwaysinwhichtheysawnature.
Map1:TheexpansionoftheUSA
ThecountriesthatareknownasCanadaandtheUnitedStatesofAmericacameintoexistenceattheend
oftheeighteenthcentury.Atthattimetheyoccupiedonlyafractionofthelandtheynowcover.Overthe
nexthundredyearstheyextendedtheircontrolovermoreterritory,toreachtheirpresentsize.Largeareas
were acquired by the USA by purchase – they bought land in the south from France (the Louisiana
Purchase’)andfromRussia(Alaska),andbywar–muchofsouthernUSAwaswonfromMexico.Itdid
notoccurtoanyonethattheconsentofnativeslivingintheseareasshouldhavebeenasked.Thewestern
‘frontieroftheUSAwasashiftingone,andasitmoved,thenativesalsowereforcedtomoveback.
ThelandscapesofAmericachangeddrasticallyinthenineteenthcentury.TheEuropeanstreatedtheland
differentlyfromthenatives.SomeofthemigrantsfromBritainandFrancewereyoungersonswhowould
not inherit their fathers’ property and therefore were eager to own land in America. Later, there were
waves of immigrants from countries like Germany, Sweden and Italy who had lost their lands to big
farmers, and wanted farms they could own. People from Poland were happy to work in the prairie
grasslands, which reminded themof the steppes of theirhomes,and wereexcited at being able to buy
hugepropertiesatverylowprices.Theyclearedlandanddevelopedagriculture,introducingcrops(rice
andcotton)whichcouldnotgrowinEuropeandthereforecouldbesoldthereforprofit.Toprotecttheir
hugefarmsfromwildanimals–wolvesandmountainlions–thesewerehuntedtoextinction.Theyfelt
totallysecureonlywiththeinventionofbarbedwirein1873.
Theclimate ofthe southern region was toohot forEuropeans toworkoutdoors, and the experienceof
SouthAmericancolonieshadshownthatthenativeswhohadbeenenslavedhaddiedinlargenumbers.
PlantationownersthereforeboughtslavesinAfrica.Protestsbyanti-slaverygroupsledtoabanonslave
trade,buttheAfricanswhowereintheUSAremainedslaves,asdidtheirchildren.
AranchinColorado.
The northern states of the USA, where the economy did not depend on plantations (and therefore on
slavery),arguedforendingslaverywhichtheycondemnedasaninhumanpractice.In1861-65,therewas
a war between the states thatwanted to retain slavery and those supporting abolition. The latter won.
Slaverywasabolished,thoughitwasonlyinthetwentiethcenturythattheAfricanAmericanswereable
to win the battle for civilliberties, and segregation between whites and non-whites in schools and
publictransportwasended.
TheCanadiangovernmenthadaproblemwhichwasnottobesolvedforalongtime,andwhichseemed
moreurgentthanthequestionofthenatives–in1763CanadahadbeenwonbytheBritishafterawar
withFrance.TheFrenchsettlersrepeatedlydemandedautonomouspoliticalstatus.Itwasonlyin1867
thatthisproblemwassolvedbyorganisingcanadaasaConfederationofautonomousstates.
TheNativePeoplesLosetheirLand
In the USA, as settlementexpanded,the nativeswereinduced or forced to move,after signingtreaties
sellingtheirland.Thepricespaidwereverylow,andtherewereinstanceswhentheAmericans(aterm
used to mean theEuropean people of the USA) cheated them by taking more land or paying less than
promised.
Evenhighofficialssawnothingwrongindeprivingthenativepeoplesoftheirland.Thisisseenbyan
episodeinGeorgia,astateintheUSA.OfficialshadarguedthattheCherokeetribewasgovernedbystate
laws,butcouldnotenjoytherightsofcitizens.(Thiswasdespitethefactthat,ofallthenativepeoples,
the Cherokees were the ones who had made the most effort to learn English and to understand the
Americanwayoflife;evensotheywerenotallowedtherightsofcitizens.)
In1832,animportantjudgmentwasannouncedbytheUSChiefJustice,JohnMarshall.Hesaidthatthe
Cherokeeswereadistinctcommunity,occupyingitsownterritoryinwhichthelawsofGeorgiahadno
force’,andthattheyhadsovereigntyincertainmatters.USPresidentAndrewJacksonhadareputationfor
fighting against economic and political privilege, but when it came to the Indians, he was a different
person. He refused to honour the Chief Justices judgment, and ordered the US army to evict the
CherokeesfromtheirlandanddrivethemtotheGreatAmericanDesert.Ofthe15,000peoplethusforced
togo,overaquarterdiedalongthe‘TrailofTears’.
Thosewhotookthelandoccupiedbythetribesjustifieditbysayingthenativesdidnotdeservetooccupy
landwhichtheydidnotusetothemaximum.Theywentontocriticisethemforbeinglazy,sincetheydid
notusetheircraftsskillstoproducegoodsforthemarket,fornotbeinginterestedinlearningEnglishor
dressing correctly’ (which meant like the Europeans). They deserved to die out, they argued. The
prairies were cleared for farmland, and wild bison killedoff. Primitive man will disappearwith the
primitiveanimalwroteavisitingFrenchman.
Meanwhile,thenatives were pushed westward, given land elsewhere (‘theirsin perpetuity)but often
movedagainifanymineral–leadorgold–oroilwasfoundontheirlands.Manytribeswereforcedto
sharethelandoriginallyoccupiedbyonetribe,thusleadingtoquarrelsbetweenthem.Theywerelocked
offinsmallareascalled‘reservations’,whichoftenwaslandwithwhichtheyhadnoearlierconnection.
Theydidnotgiveinwithoutafight.TheUSarmycrushedaseriesofrebellionsfrom1865to1890,and
inCanadatherewerearmedrevoltsbytheMetis(peopleofnativeEuropeandescent)between1869and
1885.Butafterthattheygaveup.
In1854,thePresidentoftheUSAreceivedaletterfromanativeleader,ChiefSeattle.Thepresidenthadaskedthechieftosignatreaty
givingalargepartofthelandtheylivedontotheAmericangovernment.TheChiefreplied:
‘Howcanyoubuyorsellthesky,thewarmthoftheland?Theideaisstrangetous.Ifyoudonotownthefreshnessoftheairandthe
sparkleofthewater, howcanone buythem? Everypartoftheearth issacred to mypeople. Every shiningpine-needle,everysandy
shore,everymistinthedarkwoods,everyclearingandeveryhumminginsectisholyinthememoryandexperienceofmypeople.The
sapwhichcoursesthroughthetreescarriesthememoriesoftheredman
So,whentheGreatChiefinWashingtonsendswordthathewishestobuyourland,heasksmuchofus.TheGreatChiefsendswordthat
hewillreserveusaplacesothatwecanlivecomfortably.Hewillbeourfatherandwewillbehischildren.Sowewillconsideryour
offertobuyourland.Butitwillnotbeeasy.Forthislandissacredtous.Theshiningwaterthatmovesinthestreamsandriversisnot
justwaterbutthebloodofourancestors.Ifwesellyouland,youmustrememberthatitissacredandyoumustteachyourchildrenthatit
is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The
watersmurmuristhevoiceofmyfathersfather…’
Anthropology
Itis significantthatitwas atthis time(fromthe 1840s)thatthesubject of ‘anthropology’(whichhad beendeveloped in France) was
introduced in North America, out of a curiosity to study the differences between native ‘primitive communities and the ‘civilised’
communitiesofEurope.Someanthropologistsarguedthatjustastherewereno‘primitive’peopletobefoundinEurope,theAmerican
nativestoowould‘dieout’.
Anativelodge,1862.ArchaeologistsmovedthisfromthemountainsandplaceditinamuseuminWyoming.
TheGoldRush,andtheGrowthofIndustries
MovingtoCaliforniaaspartofthe‘GoldRush’,photograph.
TherewasalwaysthehopethattherewasgoldinNorthAmerica.Inthe1840s,tracesofgoldwerefound
intheUSA,in California. This led to the GoldRush,when thousands of eagerEuropeanshurried to
America in the hope of making a quick fortune. This led to the building of railway lines across
thecontinent,forwhichthousandsofChineseworkerswererecruited.TheUSAsrailwaywascompleted
by1870,thatofCanadaby1885.Theoldnationscreeponatasnailspace’saidAndrewCarnegie,a
poor immigrant from Scotland who became one of the first millionaire industrialists in the USA, the
Republicthundersonatthespeedofanexpress’.
OnereasonwhytheIndustrialRevolutionhappenedinEnglandwhenitdidwasbecausesmallpeasants
werelosingtheirlandtobigfarmers,andmovingtojobsinfactories(seeTheme9).InNorthAmerica,
industriesdevelopedforverydifferentreasons–tomanufacturerailwayequipmentsothatrapidtransport
could link distant places, and to produce machinery which would make large-scale farming easier.
Industrialtownsgrewandfactoriesmultiplied,bothintheUSAandCanada.In1860,theUSAhadbeen
anundevelopedeconomy.In1890,itwastheleadingindustrialpowerintheworld.
Large-scaleagriculturealsoexpanded.Vastareaswereclearedanddividedupintofarms.By1890,the
bisonhadalmostbeenexterminated,thusendingthelifeofhuntingthenativeshadfollowedforcenturies.
In 1892, the USAs continental expansion was complete. The area between the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans was divided up into states. There no longer remained the frontier that had pulled European
settlerswestformanydecades.WithinafewyearstheUSAwassettingupitsowncolonies–inHawaii
andthePhilippines.Ithadbecomeanimperialpower.
Below:TheranchontheprairiethatwasthedreamofpoorEuropeanimmigrants,photograph.
Above:ImmigrantswelcomedbytheUSA,colourprint,1909.
ConstitutionalRights
The‘democraticspiritwhichhadbeentherallyingcryofthesettlersintheirfightforindependenceinthe
1770s,cametodefinetheidentityoftheUSAagainstthemonarchiesandaristocraciesoftheOldWorld.
Alsoimportanttothemwasthattheirconstitutionincludedtheindividual’srighttoproperty,whichthe
statecouldnotoverride.
Butbothdemocraticrights(therighttovoteforrepresentativestoCongressandforthePresident)andthe
right to property were only for white men. Daniel Paul, a Canadian native, pointed out in 2000 that
Thomas Paine, the champion ofdemocracy at the time of the War for American Independence and the
FrenchRevolution,‘usedtheIndiansasmodelsofhowsocietymightbeorganized’.Heusedthistoargue
thattheNativeAmericansbytheirexamplesowedtheseedsforthelong-drawn-outmovementtowards
democracybythepeopleofEurope’(WeWereNottheSavages,p.333)
KarlMarx(1818-83),thegreatGermanphilosopher,describedtheAmericanfrontieras‘thelastpositive
capitalistutopia…thelimitlessnatureandspacetowhichthelimitlessthirstforprofitadaptsitself.
–‘BastiatandCarey,Grundrisse
TheWindsofChange
Nottillthe1920sdidthingsbegintoimproveforthenativepeoplesoftheUSAandCanada.TheProblem
ofIndianAdministration,asurveydirectedbysocialscientistLewisMeriamandpublishedin1928,only
a few years before the USA was swept by a major economic depression that affected all its people,
paintedagrimpictureoftheterriblypoorhealthandeducationfacilitiesfornativesinreservations.
WhiteAmericansfeltsympathyforthenativeswhowerebeingdiscouragedfromthefullexerciseoftheir
culturesandsimultaneouslydeniedthebenefitsofcitizenship.ThisledtoalandmarklawintheUSA,the
Indian Reorganisation Act of 1934, which gave natives in reservations the right to buy land and take
loans.
Inthe1950sand1960s,theUSandCanadiangovernmentsthoughtofendingallspecialprovisionsforthe
nativesinthehopethattheywouldjointhemainstream’,thatis,adoptEuropeanculture.Butthenatives
didnot wantthis. In 1954, in theDeclaration of IndianRights prepared by them, a number ofnative
peoplesacceptedcitizenshipoftheUSAbutonconditionthattheirreservationswouldnotbetakenaway
andtheirtraditionswouldnotbeinterferedwith.AsimilardevelopmentoccurredinCanada.In1969the
governmentannouncedthattheywould‘notrecogniseaboriginalrights’.Thenatives,inawell-organised
opposition move, held a series of demonstrationsand debates. The question could not be resolvedtill
1982,when theConstitution Act acceptedtheexistingaboriginalandtreaty rightsofthenatives.Many
details remain to be worked out. Today, it is clear that the native peoples of both countries, though
reducedsomuchinnumbersfromwhattheyhadbeenintheeighteenthcentury,havebeenabletoassert
theirrighttotheirownculturesand,particularlyinCanada,totheirsacredlands,inawaytheirancestors
couldnothavedoneinthe1880s.
Indians under British rule Taxed arbitrarily; seen as not equal (rationalisation not ready for responsibility of representative
government)
NativesinAmericaandAustraliaNotseenascitizens;notequal(rationalisation‘primitiveasinnosettledagriculture,provisionfor
thefuture,towns)
AfricanslavesinAmericaDeniedpersonalliberty;notequal(rationalisation–‘Slaveryispartoftheirownsocialsystem’,blackpeople
areinferior)
ACTIVITY3
CommentonthefollowingstatementbytheAmericanhistorianHowardSpodek:
For the indigenous [people] the effects of the American Revolution were exactly
oppositetothoseofthesettlers expansion becamecontraction,democracybecame
tyranny,prosperitybecamepoverty,andlibertybecameconfinement.
AUSTRALIA
AsintheAmericas,humanhabitationinAustraliahasalonghistory.Theaborigines’(ageneralname
giventoanumberofdifferentsocieties)begantoarriveonthecontinentover40,000yearsago(possibly
evenearlier).TheycamefromNewGuinea,whichwasconnectedtoAustraliabyaland-bridge.Inthe
nativestraditions,theydidnotcometoAustralia, but had always beenthere. Thepastcenturieswere
calledtheDreamtime’–somethingdifficultforEuropeanstounderstand,sincethedistinctionbetween
pastandpresentisblurred.
Inthelateeighteenthcentury,therewerebetween350and750nativecommunitiesinAustraliaeachwith
its own language (even today 200 of these languages are spoken). There is another large group of
indigenouspeoplelivinginthenorth,calledtheTorresStraitIslanders.Theterm‘Aborigine’isnotused
fortheseastheyarebelievedtohavemigratedfromelsewhereandbelongtoadifferentrace.Together,
theymakeup2.4percentofAustralia’spopulationin2005.
Australiaissparselypopulated,andevennowmostofthetownsarealongthecoast(wheretheBritish
firstarrivedin1770)becausethecentralregionisariddesert.
MAP2:Australia
ThestoryoftheinteractionbetweentheEuropeansettlers,thenativepeoplesandthelandinAustraliahas
many points of similarity to the story of the Americas, though it began nearly 300 years later. Initial
reports from Captain Cook and his crew about encounters with natives are enthusiastic about their
friendliness.TherewasasharpreversaloffeelingonthepartoftheBritishwhenCookwaskilledbya
native–notinAustralia,butinHawaii.Asoftenhappened,asingleincidentofthisnaturewasusedby
coloniserstojustifysubsequentactsofviolencetowardsotherpeople.
ADescriptionoftheSydneyAreain1790
‘Aboriginal production had beendramatically disturbed bytheBritishpresence. The arrival of a thousand hungry mouths, followed by
hundredsmore,putunprecedentedpressureonlocalfoodresources.
So what wouldthe Daruk people havethought of all this? To them such large-scaledestruction of sacred places and strange, violent
behaviour towards their land was inexplicable. The newcomers seemed to knock down trees without any reason, for they were not
makingcanoes, gatheringbushhoneyorcatching animals.Stonesweremovedandstacked together, clay dug up,shapedand cooked,
holesweremadeintheground,largeunwieldystructuresbuilt.Atfirsttheymayhaveequatedtheclearingwiththecreationofasacred
ceremonialground…Perhapstheythoughtahugeritualgatheringwastobeheld,dangerousbusinessfromwhichtheyshouldsteerwell
clear. There is no doubt the Daruks subsequently avoided the settlement, for the only way to bring them back was by an official
kidnapping.’
(P.Grimshaw,M.Lake,A.McGrath,M.Quartly,CreatingaNation)
Theydidnotforeseethatinthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturiesnearly90percentofthemwoulddieby
exposure to germs, by the loss of their lands and resources, and in battles against the settlers. The
experimentofsettlingBrazilwithPortugueseconvictshadbeenabandonedwhentheirviolentbehaviour
provoked angry reprisals fromthenatives.The British had adoptedthe samepractice inthe American
colonies until they became independent. Then they continued it in Australia. Most of the early settlers
wereconvictswho hadbeendeportedfromEnglandand,when theirjail termended,wereallowedto
liveasfreepeopleinAustraliaonconditionthattheydidnotreturntoBritain.Withnorecoursebutto
makealifeforthemselvesinthislandsodifferentfromtheirown,theyfeltnohesitationaboutejecting
nativesfromlandtheytookoverforcultivation.
TheeconomicdevelopmentofAustraliaunderEuropeansettlementwasnotasvariedasinAmerica.Vast
sheepfarmsandminingstationswereestablishedoveralongperiodandwithmuchlabour,followedby
vineyardsandwheatfarming.Thesecametoformthebasisofthecountrysprosperity.Whenthestates
were united, and it was decided that a new capital would be built for Australia in 1911, one name
suggested for it was Woolwheatgold! Ultimately, it was called Canberra (= kamberra, a native word
meaning‘meetingplace’).
ACTIVITY4
In1911,itwasannouncedthatNewDelhiandCanberrawouldbebuiltasthecapital
citiesofBritishIndiaandoftheCommonwealthofAustralia.Compareandcontrast
thepoliticalsituationsofthenativepeopleinthesecountriesatthattime.
Somenativeswereemployedinfarms,underconditionsofworksoharshthatitwaslittledifferentfrom
slavery. Later, Chinese immigrants provided cheap labour, as in California, but unease about being
dependentonnon-whitesledtothegovernmentsinbothcountriestobanChineseimmigrants.Till1974,
suchwasthepopularfearthat‘darkpeoplefromSouthAsiaorSoutheastAsiamightmigratetoAustralia
inlargenumbersthattherewasagovernmentpolicytokeep‘non-white’peopleout.
TheWindsofChange
In1968,peoplewereelectrifiedbyalecturebytheanthropologistW.E.H.Stanner,entitledTheGreat
AustralianSilence’–thesilenceofhistoriansabouttheaborigines.Fromthe1970s,aswashappeningin
North America, there was an eagerness to understand natives not as anthropological curiosities but as
communities with distinct cultures, unique ways of understanding nature and climate, with a sense of
community which had vast bodies of stories, textile and painting and carving skills, which should be
understoodandrecordedandrespected.UnderlyingitallwastheurgentquestionwhichHenryReynolds
later articulated in a powerful book, Why Werent We Told? This condemned the practice of writing
AustralianhistoryasthoughithadbegunwithCaptainCooks‘discovery.
Since then, university departments have been instituted to study native cultures, galleries of native art
havebeenaddedtoartgalleries,museumshavebeenenlargedtoincorporatedioramasandimaginatively
designedroomsexplaining nativeculture,andnativeshavebegunwritingtheir own lifehistories.This
hasbeenawonderfuleffort.Ithasalsooccurredatacriticaltime,becauseifnativecultureshadremained
ignored,bythistimemuchofsuchcultureswouldhavebeenforgotten.From1974,multiculturalismhas
beenofficialpolicyinAustralia,whichgaveequalrespecttonativeculturesandtothedifferentcultures
oftheimmigrantsfromEuropeandAsia.
‘Kathymysisterwiththetornheart,
Idon’tknowhowtothankyou
Foryourdreamtimestoriesofjoyandgrief
Writtenonpaperbark.
Youwereoneofthedarkchildren
Iwasn’tallowedtoplaywith
Riverbankcampers,thewrongcolour
(Icouldn’tturnyouwhite.)
SoitwaslateImetyou,
LateIbegantoknow
Theyhadn’ttoldmethelandIloved
Wastakenoutofyourhands.’
‘TwoDreamtimes’,writtenforOodgerooNoonuccal
JudithWright(1915-2000),anAustralianwriter,wasachampionoftherightsoftheAustralianaborigines.Shewrotemanymoving
poemsaboutthelosscreatedbykeepingthewhitepeopleandthenativesapart.
From the 1970s, as the term ‘human rights began to be heard at meetings of the UNO and other
international agencies,theAustralian publicrealised with dismay that, in contrast to theUSA,Canada
and New Zealand, Australia had no treaties with the natives formalising the takeover of land by
Europeans.Thegovernmenthadalways
termed the land of Australia terra nullius, that is belonging to nobody. There was also a long and
agonising history of children of mixed blood (native European) being forcibly captured and separated
fromtheirnativerelatives.
Agitationaroundthesequestionsledtoenquiriesandtotwoimportantdecisions:one,torecognisethat
the natives had strong historic bonds with the land which was sacred’ to them, and which should be
respected;two,thatwhilepastactscouldnotbeundone,thereshouldbeapublicapologyfortheinjustice
donetochildreninanattempttokeep‘whiteand‘coloured’peopleapart.
Exercises
Answerinbrief
1.CommentonanypointsofdifferencebetweenthenativepeoplesofSouthandNorthAmerica.
2.OtherthantheuseofEnglish,whatotherfeaturesofEnglisheconomicandsociallifedoyounoticein
nineteenth-centuryUSA?
3.Whatdidthe‘frontiermeantotheAmericans?
4.WhywasthehistoryoftheAustraliannativepeoplesleftoutofhistorybooks?
Answerinashortessay
5.Howsatisfactory isamuseum gallerydisplayin explaining the culture ofapeople? Give examples
fromyourownexperienceofamuseum.
6. Imagine an encounter in California in about 1880 between four people: a former African slave, a
Chinese labourer, a German who had come out in the Gold Rush, and a native of the Hopi tribe, and
narratetheirconversation.
Theme11
PathstoModernisation
EastAsiaatthebeginningofthenineteenthcenturywasdominatedbyChina.TheQingdynasty,heirtoa
longtradition,seemedsecureinitspower,whileJapan,asmallislandcountry,seemedtobelockedin
isolation.Yet,withinafewdecadesChinawasthrownintoturmoilunabletofacethecolonialchallenge.
The imperial government lost political control, was unable to reform effectively and the country was
convulsedbycivilwar.Japanontheotherhandwassuccessfulinbuildingamodernnation-state,creating
anindustrialeconomyandevenestablishingacolonialempirebyincorporatingTaiwan(1895)andKorea
(1910).ItdefeatedChina,thelandthathadbeenthesourceofitscultureandideals,in1894,andRussia,
aEuropeanpower,in1905.
TheChinesereactedslowlyandfacedimmensedifficultiesastheysoughttoredefinetheirtraditionsto
cope with the modern world, and to rebuild theirnational strength and become free from Western and
Japanesecontrol.Theyfoundthattheycouldachievebothobjectives–ofremovinginequalitiesandof
rebuildingtheircountry–throughrevolution.TheChineseCommunistPartyemergedvictoriousfromthe
civilwarin1949.However,bytheendofthe1970sChineseleadersfeltthattheideologicalsystemwas
retarding economic growth and development. This led to wide-ranging reforms of the economy that
broughtbackcapitalismandthefreemarketevenastheCommunistPartyretainedpoliticalcontrol.
Japanbecameanadvancedindustrialnationbutitsdriveforempireledtowaranddefeatatthehandsof
the Anglo-American forces. The US Occupation marked the beginning of a more democratic political
systemandJapanrebuiltitseconomytoemergebythe1970sasamajoreconomicpower.
The Japanese path to modernisation was built on capitalist principles and took place within a world
dominated by Western colonialism. Japanese expansion was justified by the call to resist Western
domination and liberate Asia. The rapid development underlined the strength of tradition in Japanese
institutionsandsociety,theirabilitytolearnandthestrengthofnationalism.
ChinaandJapanhavehadalongtraditionofhistoricalwritings,ashistorywasanimportantguideforthe
rulers.Thepastprovidedthestandardsbywhichtheywouldbejudgedandtherulersestablishedofficial
departmentstomaintainrecordsandwritedynastichistories.SimaQian(145-90bce)isconsideredthe
greatesthistorianofearlyChina.InJapan,Chineseculturalinfluenceledtohistorybeinggivenasimilar
importance.OneoftheearliestactsoftheMeijigovernmentwastoestablish,in1869,abureautocollect
recordsandwrite,asitwere,avictorsversionoftheMeijiRestoration.Therewasgreatrespectforthe
writtenwordandliteraryabilitywashighlyvalued.Thishasmeantthatawiderangeofwrittenmaterials
– official histories, scholarly writings, popular literature, religious tracts – are available.Printing and
publishingwereimportantindustriesinthepre-modernperiodanditispossible,forinstance,totracethe
distributionofabookineighteenth-centuryChinaorJapan.Modernscholarshaveusedthesematerialsin
newanddifferentways.
Modern scholarship has built on the work of Chinese intellectuals such as Liang Qichao or Kume
Kunitake (1839-1931), one of the pioneers of modern history in Japan, as well as earlier writings by
Europeantravellers,suchastheItalianMarcoPolo(1254-1324,inChinafrom1274to1290),theJesuit
priests Mateo Ricci (1552-1610) in China and Luis Frois (1532-97), in Japan, all of whom left rich
accounts of these countries. It has also benefited from the writings of Christian missionaries in the
nineteenthcenturywhoseworkprovidesvaluablematerialforourunderstandingofthesecountries.
Scholarship in English from Joseph Needhams monumental work on the history of science in Chinese
civilisationorGeorgeSansom’sonJapanesehistoryandculturehasgrownandthereisanimmensebody
of sophisticated scholarship available to us today. In recent years, writings by Chinese and Japanese
scholarshavebeentranslatedintoEnglish,someofwhomteachabroadandwriteinEnglish,andinthe
case of Chinese scholars, since the 1980s, many have been working in Japan as well and write in
Japanese. This has meant that we have scholarly writings from many parts of the globe that give us a
richeranddeeperpictureofthesecountries.
NaitoKonan*(1866-1934)
*InJapan,thesurnameiswrittenfirst.
AleadingJapanesescholarofChina,NaitoKonan’swritingsinfluencedscholarsworldwide.Usingthe
newtoolsofWesternhistoriographyNaitobuiltonalongtraditionofstudyingChinaaswellasbringing
his experience as a journalist there. He helped establish the Department of Oriental Studies in Kyoto
University in 1907. In Shinaron [On China (1914)], he argued that republican government offered the
ChineseawaytoendaristocraticcontrolandcentralisedpowerthathadexistedsincetheSungdynasty
(960-1279) – a way to revitalise local society where reform must begin. He saw in Chinese history
strengthsthatwouldmakeitmodernanddemocratic.Japan,hethoughthadanimportantroletoplayin
ChinabutheunderestimatedthepowerofChinesenationalism.
Introduction
ChinaandJapanpresentamarkedphysicalcontrast.Chinaisavastcontinentalcountrythatspansmany
climaticzones;the coreis dominatedby three major riversystems: theYellow River(Huang He), the
YangtseRiver(ChangJiang–thethirdlongestriverintheworld)andthePearlRiver.Alargepartofthe
countryismountainous.
Map1:EastAsia
ThedominantethnicgrouparetheHanandthemajorlanguageisChinese(Putonghua)buttherearemany
other nationalities such as the Uighur, Hui, Manchu and Tibetan, and aside from dialects such as
Cantonese(Yue)andShanghainese(Wu)thereareotherminoritylanguagesspokenaswell.
Chinesefoodreflectsthisregionaldiversitywithatleastfourdistincttypes.Thebestknownissouthern
orCantonesecuisine–asmostoverseasChinesecomefromtheCantonarea–whichincludesdimsum
(literallytouchyourheart),anassortmentofpastriesanddumplings.Inthenorth,wheatisthestaplefood
while in Szechuan spices brought by Buddhist monks in the ancient period, along the silk route, and
chilliesbyPortuguesetradersinthefifteenthcentury,havecreatedafierycuisine.IneasternChina,both
riceandwheatareeaten.
Japan,bycontrast,isastringofislands,thefourlargestbeingHonshu,Kyushu,ShikokuandHokkaido.
TheOkinawanchainisthesouthernmost,aboutthesamelatitudeastheBahamas.Morethan50percent
ofthelandareaofthemainislandsismountainousandJapanissituatedinaveryactiveearthquakezone.
Thesegeographicalconditionshaveinfluencedarchitecture.ThepopulationislargelyJapanesebutthere
areasmallAinuminorityandKoreanswhowereforciblybroughtaslabourwhenKoreawasaJapanese
colony.
Japanlacksatraditionofanimalrearing.Riceisthestaplecropandfishthemajorsourceofprotein.Raw
fish(sashimiorsushi)has
nowbecomeawidelypopulardisharoundtheworldasitisconsideredveryhealthy.
Japan
ThePoliticalSystem
An emperor had ruled Japan from Kyoto but by the twelfth century the imperial court lost power to
shoguns,whointheoryruledinthenameoftheemperor.From1603to1867,membersoftheTokugawa
familyheldthepositionofshogun.Thecountrywasdividedintoover250domainsundertheruleoflords
calleddaimyo.Theshogunexercisedpoweroverthedomainallords,orderingthemtostayatthecapital
Edo(modernTokyo)forlongperiodssothattheywouldnotposeathreat.Healsocontrolledthemajor
cities and mines. The samurai (the warrior class) were the ruling elite and served the shoguns and
daimyo.
Inthelatesixteenthcentury,threechangeslaidthepatternforfuturedevelopment.One,thepeasantrywas
disarmed and only the samurai couldcarry swords. This ensured peace and order, ending the frequent
warsofthepreviouscentury.Two,thedaimyowereorderedtoliveinthecapitalsoftheirdomains,each
withalargedegree ofautonomy. Third,landsurveys identified owners and taxpayers and gradedland
productivitytoensureastablerevenuebase.
Thedaimyo’scapitalsbecamebigger,sothatbythemid-seventeenthcentury,Japannotonlyhadthemost
populatedcityintheworld–Edo–butalsotwootherlargecities–OsakaandKyoto,andatleasthalfa
dozencastle-townswithpopulationsofover50,000.(Bycontrast,mostEuropeancountriesofthetime
hadonlyonelargecity.)Thisledtothegrowthofacommercialeconomy,andcreatedfinancialandcredit
systems. A person’smerit began to be morevalued than his status. A vibrant cultureblossomed in the
towns, where the fast-growing class of merchants patronised theatre and the arts. As people enjoyed
reading, itbecame possible for gifted writers to earn a livingsolely by writing. In Edo,people could
‘rent’abookforthepriceofabowlofnoodles.Thisshowshowpopularreadinghadbecomeandgivesa
glimpseintothescaleofprinting*.
*Printingwasdonewithwoodblocks.TheJapanesedidnotliketheregularityofEuropeanprinting.
Japanwasconsideredrich,becauseitimportedluxurygoodslikesilkfromChinaandtextilesfromIndia.
Paying for these imports with gold and silver strained the economy and led the Tokugawa to put
restrictionsontheexportofpreciousmetals.TheyalsotookstepstodevelopthesilkindustryinNishijin
inKyotosoastoreduceimports.ThesilkfromNishijincametobeknownasthebestintheworld.Other
developmentssuchastheincreaseduseofmoneyandthecreationofastockmarketinriceshowthatthe
economywasdevelopinginnewways.
Socialandintellectualchanges–suchasthestudyofancientJapaneseliterature–ledpeopletoquestion
the degree of Chinese influence and to argue that the essence of being Japanese could be found long
beforethecontactwithChina,insuchearlyclassicsastheTaleoftheGenjiandinthemythsoforiginthat
saidthattheislandswerecreatedbythegodsandthattheemperorwasadescendantoftheSunGoddess.
TaleoftheGenji
AfictionaliseddiaryoftheHeiancourtwrittenbyMurasakiShikibu,theTaleoftheGenjibecamethecentralworkoffictioninJapanese
literature.Thatperiodsawtheemergenceofmanywomenwriters,likeMurasaki,whowroteintheJapanesescript,whilemenwrotein
theChinesescript,usedforeducationandgovernment.ThenoveldepictstheromanticlifeofPrinceGenjiandisastrikingpictureofthe
aristocraticatmosphereoftheHeiancourt.Itshowstheindependencethatwomenhadinchoosingtheirhusbandsandlivingtheirlives.
NishijinisaquarterinKyoto.Inthesixteenthcentury,ithadaweavers’guildof31householdsandbythe
endoftheseventeenthcenturythecommunitynumberedover70,000people.Sericulturespreadandwas
encouragedbyanorderin1713thatonlydomesticyarnwastobeused.Nishijinspecialisedonlyinthe
most expensive products. Silk production helped the growth of a class of regional entrepreneurs who
challenged the Tokugawa order, andwhen foreign trade started in 1859 Japans silk exports becamea
majorsourceofprofitfortheeconomystrugglingtocompetewithWesterngoods.
TheMeijiRestoration
Internal discontent coincided with demands for trade and diplomatic relations. In 1853, the USA sent
CommodoreMatthewPerry(1794-1858)toJapantodemandthatthegovernmentsignatreatythatwould
permit trade and open diplomatic relations, which it did the following year. Japan lay on the route to
ChinawhichtheUSAsawasamajormarket;also,theirwhalingshipsinthePacificneededaplaceto
refuel.Atthattime,therewasonlyoneWesterncountrythattradedwithJapan,Holland.
Perrys arrival had an important effect on Japanese politics. The emperor, who till then had had little
political power, now re-emerged as an important figure. In 1868, a movement forcibly removed the
shogun from power, and brought the Emperor to Edo. This was made the capital and renamed Tokyo,
whichmeans‘easterncapital’.
Perry’sship:aJapanesewoodblockprint.
What the Japanese called ‘black ships’ (tar was used to seal the joints of the wood) are depicted in
paintingsandcartoonsshowingthestrangeforeignersandtheirhabits.Thisbecameapowerfulsymbolof
Japansopening.(Today,scholarswouldarguethatJapanhadnotbeen‘closed’,tookpartintheeast
AsiantradeandhadaccesstoknowledgeofthewiderworldboththroughtheDutchandtheChinese.)
Officials and the people were aware that some European countries were building colonial empires in
Indiaandelsewhere.NewsofChinabeingdefeatedbytheBritish(seep.244)wasflowingin,andthis
wasevendepictedinpopularplays,sothattherewasarealfearthatJapanmightbemadeacolony.Many
scholarsandleaderswantedtolearnfromthenewideasinEuroperatherthanignorethemastheChinese
weredoing;otherssoughttoexcludetheEuropeansevenwhilebeingreadytoadoptthenewtechnologies
theyoffered.Somearguedforagradualandlimited‘openingtotheouterworld.
CommodorePerryasseenbytheJapanese.
ACTIVITY1
ContrasttheencounteroftheJapaneseandtheAztecswiththeEuropeans.
The government launched a policy with the slogan fukoku kyohei’ (rich country, strong army). They
realisedthattheyneededtodeveloptheireconomyandbuildastrongarmy,otherwisetheywouldfacethe
prospectofbeingsubjugatedlikeIndia.Todothistheyneededtocreateasenseofnationhoodamongthe
people,andtotransformsubjectsintocitizens.
At the same time, the new government also worked to build what they called the emperor system’.
(Japanesescholarsusethistermastheemperorwaspartofasystem,alongwiththebureaucracyandthe
military, that exercised power.) Officials were sent to study the European monarchies on which they
plannedtomodeltheirown.TheEmperorwouldbetreatedwithreverenceashewasconsideredadirect
descendant of the Sun Goddess but he was also shown as the leader of westernisation. His birthday
becameanationalholiday,heworeWestern-stylemilitaryuniforms,andedictswereissuedinhisnameto
setupmoderninstitutions.TheImperialRescriptonEducationof1890urgedpeopletopursuelearning,
advancepublicgoodandpromotecommoninterests.
Anewschoolsystembegantobebuiltfromthe1870s.Schoolingwascompulsoryforboysandgirlsand
by1910almostuniversal.Tuitionfeeswereminimal.ThecurriculumhadbeenbasedonWesternmodels
butbythe1870s,whileemphasisingmodernideas,stresswasplacedonloyaltyandthestudyofJapanese
history.Theministryofeducationexercisedcontroloverthecurriculumandintheselectionoftextbooks,
aswellasinteachers’training.Whatwascalled‘moralculture‘hadtobetaught,andtextsurgedchildren
toreveretheirparents,beloyaltothenation,andbecomegoodcitizens.
TheJapanese hadborrowedtheir writtenscriptfromtheChinesein thesixthcentury. However, sincetheir languageisvery different
fromChinesetheydevelopedtwophoneticalphabetshiraganaandkatakana.Hiraganaisconsideredfemininebecauseitwasusedby
manywomenwritersintheHeianperiod(suchasMurasaki).ItiswrittenusingamixtureofChinesecharactersandphoneticssothatthe
main part of the word is written with a character for instance, in ‘going’, ‘go would be written with a character and the ‘ing’ in
phonetics.
Theexistenceofaphoneticsyllabarymeantthatknowledgespreadfromtheelitestothewidersocietyrelativelyquickly.Inthe1880sit
wassuggestedthatJapanesedevelopacompletelyphoneticscript,oradoptaEuropeanlanguage.Neitherwasdone.
To integrate the nation, the Meiji government imposed a new administrative structure by altering old
village and domain boundaries. The administrative unit had to have revenue adequate to maintain the
localschoolsandhealthfacilities,aswellasserveasarecruitmentcentreforthemilitary.Allyoungmen
over twenty had to do a period of military service. A modern military force was developed. A legal
system was set up to regulate the formation of political groups, control the holding of meetings and
imposestrictcensorship.Inallthesemeasuresthegovernmenthadtofaceopposition.Themilitaryand
the bureaucracy were put under the direct command of the emperor. This meant that even after a
constitution was enacted these twogroups remained outsidethe control ofthegovernment.Inallthese
measuresthegovernmentfacedopposition.
Thetensionbetweenthesedifferentidealsrepresentedbyademocraticconstitutionandamodernarmy
wastohavefar-reachingconsequences.Thearmypressedforavigorousforeignpolicytoacquiremore
territory.ThisledtowarswithChinaandRussia,inbothofwhichJapanwasthevictor.Populardemand
forgreaterdemocracywasofteninoppositiontothegovernment’saggressivepolicies.Japandeveloped
economicallyandacquiredacolonialempirethatsuppressedthespreadofdemocracyathomeandputit
incollisionwiththepeopleitcolonised.
WritingJapanese:Kanji(Chinesecharacters)red;katakana–blue;hiragana–green.
ModernisingtheEconomy
AnotherimportantpartoftheMeijireformswasthemodernisingoftheeconomy.Fundswereraisedby
levyinganagriculturaltax.Japansfirstrailwayline,betweenTokyoandtheportofYokohama,wasbuilt
in1870-72.TextilemachinerywasimportedfromEurope,andforeigntechnicianswereemployedtotrain
workers,aswellastoteachinuniversitiesandschools,andJapanesestudentsweresentabroad.In1872,
modern banking institutions were launched. Companies like Mitsubishi and Sumitomo were helped
throughsubsidiesandtaxbenefitstobecomemajorshipbuilderssothatJapanesetradewasfromnowon
carried in Japanese ships. Zaibatsu (large business organisations controlled by individual families)
dominatedtheeconomytillaftertheSecondWorldWar.
Thepopulation,35millionin1872,increasedto55millionin1920.Toreducepopulationpressurethe
government actively encouraged migration, first to the northern island of Hokkaido, which had been a
largely autonomous area where the indigenous people called the Ainu lived, and then to Hawaii and
Brazil,aswellastothegrowingcolonialempireofJapan.WithinJapantherewasashifttotownsas
industrydeveloped.By1925,21percentofthepopulationlivedincities;by1935,thisfigurehadgone
upto32percent(22.5million).
IndustrialWorkers
Thenumberofpeople inmanufacturingincreasedfrom700,000 in1870 to4 millionin 1913.Mostof
them worked in unitsemploying less than five peopleand using neither machinery nor electric power.
Overhalfofthoseemployedinmodernfactorieswerewomen.Anditwaswomenwhoorganisedthefirst
modernstrikein1886.After1900,thenumberofmenbegantoincreasebutonlyinthe1930sdidmale
workersbegintooutnumberwomen.
Workersinatextilefactory.
Thesizeoffactoriesalsobegantoincrease.Factoriesemployingmorethanahundredworkers,justover
1,000in1909,jumpedtoover2,000by1920and4,000bythe1930s;yetevenin1940,therewereover
550,000workshopsthatemployedlessthanfiveemployees.Thissustainedthefamily-centredideology,
justasnationalismwassustainedbyastrongpatriarchalsystemunderanemperorwhowaslikeafamily
patriarch.
Therapidandunregulatedgrowthofindustryandthedemandfornaturalresourcessuchastimberledto
environmentaldestruction.TanakaShozo,electedtothefirstHouseofRepresentatives,launchedthefirst
agitationagainstindustrialpollutionin1897with800villagersinamassprotestforcingthegovernment
totakeaction.
AggressiveNationalism
The Meiji constitution was based on a restricted franchise and created a Diet (the Japanese used the
GermanwordforparliamentbecauseoftheinfluenceofGermanlegalideas)withlimitedpowers.The
leaders who brought about the imperial restoration continued to exercise power and even established
politicalparties.Between1918and1931,popularlyelectedprimeministersformedcabinets.Thereafter,
theylostpowertonationalunitycabinetsformedacrosspartylines.Theemperorwasthecommanderof
theforcesandfrom1890thiswasinterpretedtomeanthatthearmyandthenavyhadindependentcontrol.
In1899,theprimeministerorderedthatonlyservinggeneralsandadmiralscouldbecomeministers.This
strengtheningofthemilitary,togetherwiththeexpansionofJapanscolonialempire,wasconnectedwith
thefearthatJapanwasatthemercyoftheWesternpowers.Thisfearwasusedtosilenceoppositionto
militaryexpansionandtohighertaxestofundthearmedforces.
TanakaShozo(1841-1913),
theself-taughtsonofa farmer,rose tobecomea majorpoliticalfigure.Heparticipated in thePopular
Rights Movement in the 1880s, a movement demanding constitutional government. He was elected
member to the first Diet. He believed that ordinary people should not be sacrificed for industrial
progress. The Ashio Mine was polluting the Watarase river ruining 100 square miles of farmland and
affectingathousandfamilies.Theagitationforcedthecompanytotakepollution-controlmeasuressothat
by1904harvestswerenormal.
Youngpeoplebeingexhortedtofightforthenation:amagazinecover.Student-soldiers:photographs.
‘Westernisationand‘Tradition’
Successive generations of Japanese intellectuals had different views on Japans relations with other
countries.Tosome,theUSAandwesternEuropeancountrieswereatthehighestpointofcivilisation,to
whichJapanaspired.FukuzawaYukichi,aleadingMeijiintellectual,expressedthisbysayingthatJapan
must‘expelAsia’.HemeantthatJapanmustshedits‘AsiancharacteristicsandbecomepartoftheWest.
FukuzawaYukichi(1835-1901)
Borninanimpoverishedsamuraifamily,hestudiedinNagasakiandOsakalearningDutchandWesternsciencesand,later,English.In
1860,hewentasatranslatorforthefirstJapaneseembassytotheUSA.ThisprovidedmaterialforabookontheWest,writtennotinthe
classicalbutinthespokenstylethatbecameextremelypopular.HeestablishedaschoolthatistodaytheKeioUniversity.Hewasoneof
thecoremembersoftheMeirokusha,asocietytopromoteWesternlearning.
InTheEncouragementtoLearning(Gakumonnosusume,1872-76)hewasverycriticalofJapaneseknowledge:‘AllthatJapanhastobe
proud of is its scenery’. He advocated not just modern factories and institutions but the cultural essence of the West the spirit of
civilisation.Withthisspirititwouldbepossibletobuildanewcitizen.Hisprinciplewas:‘Heavendidnotcreatemenabovemen,norset
menbelowmen.
Thenextgeneration questionedthis total acceptance of Western ideasand urged that national pridebe
builtonindigenousvalues.ThephilosopherMiyakeSetsurei(1860-1945)arguedthateachnationmust
developitsspecialtalentsintheinterestofworldcivilisation:Todevoteoneselftoonescountryisto
devote oneself to the world.’ By contrast, many intellectuals were attracted to Western liberalism and
wanted a Japan based not on themilitary but on democracy.Ueki Emori (1857-1892), aleader of the
Popular Rights Movement, was demanding constitutional government, admiredthe French Revolutions
doctrineofthenaturalrightsof man and of popularsovereignty,and spokefora liberaleducation that
woulddevelop each individual:Freedom is moreprecious than order.’ Others even advocatedvoting
rightsforwomen.Thispressureledthegovernmenttoannounce
aconstitution.
DailyLife
Japans transformation into a modern society can be seen also in the changes in everyday life. The
patriarchalhouseholdsystemcomprisedmanygenerationslivingtogetherunderthecontroloftheheadof
thehouse,butasmorepeoplebecameaffluent,newideasofthefamilyspread.Thenewhome(homuas
theJapanesesay,usingtheEnglishword)wasthatofthenuclearfamily,wherehusbandandwifelivedas
breadwinnerandhomemaker.Thisnewconceptofdomesticityinturngenerateddemandsfornewtypesof
domesticgoods,newtypesoffamilyentertainments,andnewformsofhousing.Inthe1920s,construction
companiesmadecheaphousingavailableforadownpaymentof200yenandamonthlyinstalmentof12
yenfortenyears–thisatatimewhenthesalaryofabankemployee(apersonwithhighereducation)was
40yenpermonth.
Thenoveltyofelectricgoods:arice-cooker,anAmericangrill,atoaster.
CAR-CLUB
Moga: An abbreviation for ‘modern girl’. It represented the coming together in the twentieth century of ideas of gender equality, a
cosmopolitancultureandadevelopedeconomy.Thenewmiddle-classfamiliesenjoyednewformsoftravelandentertainment.Transport
incitiesimprovedwithelectrictrams,publicparkswereopenedfrom1878,anddepartmentstoresbegantobebuilt.InTokyo,theGinza
becameafashionableareafor Ginbura,awordcombining‘Ginzaand‘burbura’(walkingaimlessly).Thefirstradiostationsopenedin
1925.MatsuiSumako,an actress, became anationalstar withherportrayal ofNora inthe NorwegianwriterIbsen’sA DollsHouse.
Moviesbegantobemadein1899andsoontherewereadozencompaniesmakinghundredsoffilms.Theperiodwasoneofgreatvitality
andthequestioningoftraditionalnormsofsocialandpoliticalbehaviour.
Womenscar-pool.
‘OvercomingModernity’
State-centrednationalismfoundfullexpressioninthe1930sand1940sasJapanlaunchedwarstoextend
its empire inChina andotherpartsofAsia,a war that mergedintotheSecond World WarafterJapan
attacked the USA at Pearl Harbor. This period saw greater controls on society, the repression and
imprisonment of dissidents, as well as the formation of patriotic societies, many of them womens
organisations,tosupportthewar.
An influential symposium on Overcoming Modernity in 1943 debated the dilemma facing Japan – of
howtocombattheWestwhilebeingmodern.Amusician,MoroiSaburo,posedthequestionofhowto
rescuemusicfromtheartofsensorystimulationandrestoreittoanartofthespirit.Hewasnotrejecting
WesternmusicbuttryingtofindawaythatwentbeyondmerelyrewritingorplayingJapanesemusicon
Western instruments.The philosopherNishitaniKeijidefinedmodern as theunity of threestreams of
Westernthought:theRenaissance,theProtestantReformation,andtheriseofnaturalsciences.Heargued
thatJapan’s‘moralenergy(atermtakenfromtheGermanphilosopherRanke)hadhelpeditto escape
colonisationanditwasitsdutytoestablishanewworldorder,aGreaterEastAsia.Forthisanewvision
thatwouldintegratescienceandreligionwasnecessary.
ACTIVITY2
WouldyouagreewithNishitani’sdefinitionofmodern?
AfterDefeat:Re-emergingasaGlobal
EconomicPower
Japans attempt to carve out a colonial empire ended with its defeat by the Allied forces. It has been
arguedthatnuclearbombsweredroppedonHiroshimaandNagasakitoshortenthewar.Butothersthink
theimmensedestructionandsufferingitcausedwereunnecessary.UndertheUS-ledOccupation(1945-
47)Japanwasdemilitarisedandanewconstitutionintroduced.ThishadArticle9,theso-callednowar
clause’ that renounces the use of war as an instrument of state policy. Agrarian reforms, the re-
establishment of trade unions and an attempt to dismantle the zaibatsu or large monopoly houses that
dominatedtheJapaneseeconomywerealsocarriedout.Politicalpartieswererevivedandthefirstpost-
warelectionsheldin1946wherewomenvotedforthefirsttime.
TherapidrebuildingoftheJapaneseeconomyafteritsshatteringdefeatwascalledapost-warmiracle’.
Butitwasmorethanthat–itwasfirmlyrootedinitslonghistory.Theconstitutionwasdemocratisedonly
now,buttheJapanesehadahistorictraditionofpopularstrugglesandintellectualengagementwithhow
tobroadenpoliticalparticipation.Thesocialcohesionofthepre-waryearswasstrengthened,allowing
for a close working of the government, bureaucracy and industry. US support, as well as the demand
createdbytheKoreanandtheVietnamesewarsalsohelpedtheJapaneseeconomy.
The1964OlympicsheldinTokyomarkedasymboliccomingofage.Inmuchthesamewaythenetwork
ofhigh-speedShinkansenorbullettrains,startedin1964,whichranat200milesperhour(nowitis300
miles per hour) have come to represent the ability of the Japanese to use advanced technologies to
producebetterandcheapergoods.
The 1960s saw the growth of civil society movements as industrialisation had been pushed with utter
disregardtoitseffectonhealthandtheenvironment.Cadmiumpoisoning,whichledtoapainfuldisease,
wasanearlyindicator,followedbymercurypoisoninginMinamatainthe1960sandproblemscausedby
air pollution in the early 1970s. Grass-roots pressure groups began to demand recognition of these
problemsaswellascompensationforthevictims.Governmentactionandnewlegalregulationshelpedto
improveconditions.Fromthemid-1980stherehasbeenanincreasingdeclineininterestinenvironmental
issuesasJapanenactedsomeofthestrictestenvironmentalcontrolsintheworld.Today,asadeveloped
countryitfacesthechallengeofusingitspoliticalandtechnologicalcapabilitiestomaintainitsposition
asaleadingworldpower.
CHINA
The modern history of China has revolved around the question of how to regain sovereignty, end the
humiliation of foreign occupation and bring about equality and development. Chinese debates were
markedbytheviewsofthreegroups.TheearlyreformerssuchasKangYouwei(1858-1927)orLiang
Qichao(1873-1929)triedtousetraditionalideasinnewanddifferentwaystomeetthechallengesposed
bytheWest.Second,republicanrevolutionariessuchasSunYat-sen,thefirstpresidentoftherepublic,
wereinspiredbyideasfromJapanandtheWest.Thethird,theCommunistPartyofChina(CCP)wanted
toendage-oldinequalitiesanddriveouttheforeigners.
The beginning of modern China can be traced to its first encounter with the West in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries when Jesuit missionaries introduced Western sciences such as astronomy and
mathematics.Limitedthoughitsimmediateimpactwas,itsetinmotioneventsthatgatheredmomentumin
thenineteenthcenturywhenBritainusedforcetoexpanditslucrativetradeinopiumleadingtothefirst
OpiumWar(1839-42).ThisunderminedtherulingQingdynastyandstrengtheneddemandsforreformand
change.
TheOpiumTrade
ThedemandforChinesegoodssuchastea,silkandporcelaincreatedaseriousbalance-of-tradeproblem.Westerngoodsdidnotfinda
marketinChina,sopaymenthadtobeinsilver.TheEastIndiaCompanyfoundanewoption–opium,whichgrewinIndia.Theysoldthe
opiuminChinaandgavethesilverthattheyearnedtocompanyagentsinCantoninreturnforlettersofcredit.TheCompanyusedthe
silvertobuytea,silkandporcelaintosellinBritain.Thiswasthe‘triangulartradebetweenBritain,IndiaandChina.
TheOpiumWar:AEuropeanpainting.
ACTIVITY3
DoesthispaintinggiveyouaclearsenseofthesignificanceoftheOpiumWar?
QingreformerssuchasKang Youwei and LiangQichaorealisedthe need to strengthen thesystemand
initiatedpoliciestobuildamodernadministrativesystem,anewarmyandaneducationalsystem,andset
up local assemblies to establish constitutional government. They saw the need to protect China from
colonisation.
The negative example of colonised countries worked powerfully on Chinese thinkers. The partition of
Polandintheeighteenthcenturywasamuch-discussedexample.Somuchsothatbythelate1890sitcame
tobeusedasaverb: ‘toPolandus(bolanwo).Indiawas anothersuchexample.In 1903,the thinker
Liang Qichao,whobelieved thatonly by making peopleaware thatChina was anation wouldthey be
abletoresisttheWest,wrotethatIndiawas‘acountrythatwasdestroyedbyanon-countrythatistheEast
IndiaCompany.HecriticisedIndiansforbeingcrueltotheirownpeopleandsubservienttotheBritish.
Such arguments carried a powerful appeal as ordinary Chinese could see that the British used Indian
soldiersintheirwarsonChina.
Aboveallmanyfeltthattraditionalwaysofthinkinghadtobechanged.Confucianism,developedfrom
the teachings of Confucius (551-479 bce) and his disciples, was concerned with good conduct,
practicalwisdomandpropersocialrelationships.ItinfluencedtheChineseattitudetowardlife,provided
social standards and laid the basis for political theories and institutions. It was now seen as a major
barriertonewideasandinstitutions.
To train peoplein modern subjects students were sent to study in Japan, Britain and Franceand bring
backnewideas.ManyChinesestudentswenttoJapaninthe1890s.Theynotonlybroughtbacknewideas
but many became leading republicans. The Chinese borrowed even Japanese translations of European
wordssuchasjustice,rights,andrevolutionbecausetheyusedthesameideographicscript,areversalof
thetraditionalrelationship.In1905,justaftertheRusso-Japanesewar(awarfoughtonChinesesoiland
overChineseterritory)thecenturies-oldChineseexaminationsystemthatgavecandidatesentryintothe
eliterulingclasswasabolished.
TheExaminationSystem
Entrytotheeliterulingclass(about1.1milliontill1850)hadbeenlargelythroughanexamination.Thisrequiredwritinganeight-legged
essay[pa-kuwen]inclassicalChineseinaprescribedform.Theexaminationwasheldtwiceeverythreeyears,atdifferentlevelsandof
thoseallowedtositonly1-2percentpassedthefirstlevel,usuallybytheageof24,tobecomewhatwascalled‘beautifultalent’.Atany
giventimebefore1850therewereabout526,869civiland212,330militaryprovincial(sheng-yuan)degreeholdersinthewholecountry.
Sincetherewereonly27,000officialpositions,manylower-leveldegreeholdersdidnothavejobs.Theexaminationactedasabarrierto
the development of science and technology as it demanded only literary skills. In 1905, it was abolished as it was based on skills in
classicalChineselearningthathad,itwasfelt,norelevanceforthemodernworld.
EstablishingtheRepublic
TheManchuempirewasoverthrownandarepublicestablishedin1911underSunYat-sen(1866-1925)
whoisunanimouslyregardedasthefounderofmodernChina.Hecamefromapoorfamilyandstudiedin
missionaryschoolswherehewasintroducedtodemocracyandChristianity.Hestudiedmedicinebutwas
greatlyconcernedaboutthefateofChina.HisprogrammewascalledtheThreePrinciples(San
minchui). These werenationalism – this meant overthrowing the Manchu who were seen as a foreign
dynasty, as well as other foreign imperialists; democracy or establishing democratic government; and
socialismregulatingcapitalandequalisinglandholdings.
Thesocialandpoliticalsituationcontinuedtobeunstable.On4May1919,anangrydemonstrationwas
heldinBeijingtoprotestagainstthedecisionsofthepost-warpeaceconference.Despitebeinganallyof
thevictorioussideledbyBritain,Chinadidnotgetbacktheterritoriesseizedfromit.Theprotestbecame
a movement. It galvanised a whole generation to attack tradition and to call for saving China through
modernscience,democracyandnationalism.Revolutionariescalledfordrivingouttheforeigners,who
were controlling the countrys resources, to remove inequalities and reduce poverty. They advocated
reforms such as the use of simple language in writing, abolishing the practice of foot-binding and the
subordination of women, equality in marriage, and economic development to end poverty. After the
republican revolution the country entered a period of turmoil. TheGuomindang (theNational Peoples
Party)andtheCCPemergedasmajorforcesstrivingtounitethecountryandbringstability.
SunYat-sensideasbecamethebasisofthepoliticalphilosophyoftheGuomindang.Theyidentifiedthe
‘fourgreatneedsasclothing,food,housingandtransportation.AfterthedeathofSun,ChiangKai-shek
(1887-1975)emergedastheleaderoftheGuomindangashelaunchedamilitarycampaigntocontrolthe
‘warlords’,regionalleaderswhohadusurpedauthority,andtoeliminatethecommunists.Headvocateda
secularandrationalthis-worldlyConfucianism,butalsosoughttomilitarisethenation.Thepeople,he
said,mustdevelopa‘habitandinstinctforunifiedbehaviour.Heencouragedwomentocultivatethefour
virtuesofchastity,appearance,speechandworkandrecognisetheirroleasconfinedtothehousehold.
Eventhelengthofhemlineswasprescribed.
TheGuomindangssocialbasewasinurbanareas.Industrialgrowthwasslowandlimited.Incitiessuch
as Shanghai, which became the centres of modern growth, by 1919 an industrial working class had
appeared numbering 500,000. Of these, however, only a small percentage were employed in modern
industries such as shipbuilding. Most were petty urbanites’ (xiao shimin), traders and shopkeepers.
Urbanworkers,particularlywomen,earnedverylowwages.Workinghourswerelongandconditionsof
workbad.Asindividualismincreased,therewasagrowingconcernwithwomensrights,waystobuild
thefamilyanddiscussionsaboutloveandromance.
Socialandculturalchangewashelpedalongbythespreadofschoolsanduniversities(PekingUniversity
wasestablishedin1902).Journalismflourishedreflectingthegrowingattractionofthisnewthinking.The
popularLifeWeekly,editedbyZaoTaofen(1895-1944),isrepresentativeofthisnewtrend.Itintroduced
readerstonewideas,aswellastoleaderssuchasMahatmaGandhiandKemalAtaturk,themodernist
leaderofTurkey.Itscirculationincreasedrapidlyfromjust2,000in1926toamassive200,000copiesin
1933.
Shanghai in 1935: Buck Clayton, a black American trumpet player, in Shanghai with his jazz orchestra lived the life of the privileged
expatriates.ButhewasblackandoncesomewhiteAmericansassaultedhimandhisorchestramembersandthrewthemoutfromthe
hotel they played in. Thus, though American, he had greater sympathy for the plight of the Chinese being himself a victim of racial
discrimination.
Of their fight with white Americans where they emerged victorious he writes, ‘The Chinese onlookers treated us like we had done
somethingtheyalwayswantedtodoandfollowedusallthewayhomecheeringuslikeawinningfootballteam.
OnthepovertyandhardlifeoftheChinese,Claytonwrites,‘Iwouldseesometimestwentyorthirtycooliespullingabigheavycartthat
inAmericawouldbepulledbyatruckorhorses.Thesepeopleseemedtobenothingbuthumanhorsesandalltheywouldgetattheend
ofthedaywasjustenoughtogetacoupleofbowlsofriceandaplacetosleep.Idon’tknowhowtheydidit.
‘RickshawPuller’,woodcutbyLanJia.ThenovelRickshawbyLaoShe(1936)becameaclassic.
TheGuomindang despite itsattemptstounite the country failed because of its narrow social base and
limited politicalvision. Amajorplankin SunYat-sensprogramme– regulatingcapital andequalising
land–wasnevercarriedoutbecausethepartyignoredthepeasantryandtherisingsocialinequalities.It
soughttoimposemilitaryorderratherthenaddresstheproblemsfacedbythepeople.
Thestoryofrisingprices.
TheRiseoftheCommunistPartyofChina
When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, the Guomindang retreated. The long and exhausting war
weakenedChina.Pricesrose30percentpermonthbetween1945 and1949, andutterlydestroyedthe
lives of ordinary people. Rural China faced two crises: one ecological, with soil exhaustion,
deforestation and floods, and the second, a socio-economic one caused by exploitative land-tenure
systems,indebtedness,primitivetechnologyandpoorcommunications.
TheCCPhadbeenfoundedin1921,soonaftertheRussianRevolution.TheRussiansuccessexerciseda
powerful influence around the world and leaders such as Lenin and Trotsky went on to establish the
CominternortheThirdInternationalinMarch1918tohelpbringaboutaworldgovernmentthatwould
endexploitation.TheCominternandtheSovietUnionsupportedcommunistpartiesaroundtheworldbut
theyworkedwithinthetraditionalMarxistunderstandingthatrevolutionwouldbebroughtaboutbythe
workingclassincities.Itsinitialappealacrossnationalboundarieswasimmensebutitsoonbecamea
toolforSovietinterestsandwasdissolvedin1943.MaoZedong(1893-1976),whoemergedasamajor
CCPleader,tookadifferentpathby basing hisrevolutionaryprogramme onthepeasantry.Hissuccess
madetheCCPapowerfulpoliticalforcethatultimatelywonagainsttheGuomindang.
MaoZedongsradicalapproachcanbeseeninJiangxi,inthemountains,wheretheycampedfrom1928to
1934,securefromGuomindangattacks.Astrongpeasantscouncil(soviet)wasorganised,unitedthrough
confiscationandredistributionofland.Mao,unlikeotherleaders,stressedtheneedforanindependent
governmentandarmy.Hehadbecomeawareofwomensproblemsandsupportedtheemergenceofrural
womens associations, promulgated a new marriage law that forbade arranged marriages, stopped
purchaseorsaleofmarriagecontractsandsimplifieddivorce.
Inasurveyin1930inXunwu,MaoZedonglookedateverydaycommoditiessuchassaltandsoyabeans,attherelativestrengthsoflocal
organisations, at petty traders and craftsmen, ironsmiths and prostitutes, and the strength of religious organisations to examine the
differentlevelsofexploitation.Hegatheredstatisticsofthenumberofpeasantswhohadsoldtheirchildrenandfoundoutwhatpricethey
receivedboysweresoldfor100-200yuanbuttherewerenoinstancesofthesaleofgirlsbecausetheneedwasforhardlabournot
sexualexploitation.Itwasonthebasisofthesestudiesthatheadvocatedwaysofsolvingsocialproblems.
TheGuomindangblockadeoftheCommunists’Sovietforcedthepartytoseekanotherbase.Thisledthem
togoonwhatcametobecalledtheLongMarch(1934-35),6,000gruellinganddifficultmilestoShanxi.
Here,intheirnewbaseinYanan,theyfurtherdevelopedtheirprogrammetoendwarlordism,carryout
landreformsandfightforeignimperialism.Thiswonthemastrongsocialbase.Inthedifficultyearsof
thewar,theCommunistsandtheGuomindangworkedtogether,butafter
theendofthewartheCommunistsestablishedthemselvesinpowerandtheGuomindangwasdefeated.
Map2:TheLongMarch
PhotographofsoldiersontheLongMarchreclaimingwasteland,1941.
EstablishingtheNewDemocracy:1949-65
ThePeoplesRepublicofChinagovernmentwasestablishedin1949.Itwasbasedontheprinciplesofthe
‘NewDemocracy,anallianceofallsocialclasses,unlikethedictatorshipoftheproletariat*thatthe
SovietUnionsaidithadestablished.Criticalareasoftheeconomywereputundergovernmentcontrol,
andprivateenterpriseandprivateownershipoflandweregraduallyended.Thisprogrammelastedtill
1953when thegovernmentdeclaredthatit wouldlauncha programmeof socialist transformation. The
GreatLeapForwardmovementlaunchedin1958wasapolicytogalvanisethecountrytoindustrialise
rapidly.Peoplewereencouragedtosetupsteelfurnacesintheirbackyards.Intheruralareas,people’s
communes(wherelandwouldbecollectivelyownedandcultivated)werestarted.By1958,therewere
26,000communescovering98percentofthefarmpopulation.
*ThistermwasusedbyKarlMarxtostressthattheworkingclasswouldreplacetherepressivegovernmentofthepropertiedclass
witharevolutionarygovernmentandnotadictatorshipinthecurrentsense.
MaowasabletomobilisethemassestoattainthegoalssetbytheParty.Hisconcernwaswithcreatinga
‘socialistman’whowouldhavefiveloves:fatherland,people,labour,scienceandpublicproperty.Mass
organisationswerecreatedforfarmers, women, studentsand othergroups.For instance, theAll-China
DemocraticWomensFederationhad76millionmembers,theAll-ChinaStudentsFederation3.29million
members.TheseobjectivesandmethodsdidnotappealtoeveryoneintheParty.In1953-54,somewere
urgingformoreattentiontoindustrialorganisationandeconomicgrowth.LiuShaochi(1896-1969)and
DengXiaoping(1904-97)triedtomodifythecommunesystemasitwasnotworkingefficiently.Thesteel
producedinthebackyardfurnaceswasunusableindustrially.
ConflictingVisions:1965-78
The conflict between the Maoists wanting to create a Socialist Man’ and those who objected to his
emphasisonideologyratherthanexpertise,culminatedinMaolaunchingtheGreatProletarianCultural
Revolutionin1965tocounterhiscritics.TheRedGuards,mainlystudentsandthearmy,wasusedfora
campaign against old culture, old customs and old habits. Students and professionals were sent to the
countryside to learn from the masses. Ideology (being Communist) was more important than having
professionalknowledge.Denunciationsandslogansreplacedrationaldebate.
The Cultural Revolution began a period of turmoil, weakened the Party and severely disrupted the
economyandeducationalsystem.Fromthelate1960s,thetidebegantoturn.In1975,thePartyonceagain
laidemphasisongreatersocialdisciplineandtheneedtobuildanindustrialeconomysothatChinacould
becomeapowerbeforetheendofthecentury.
Reformsfrom1978
TheCulturalRevolutionwasfollowedbyaprocessofpoliticalmanoeuvring.DengXiaopingkeptparty
controlstrongwhileintroducingasocialistmarketeconomy.In1978,thePartydeclareditsgoalasthe
FourModernisations(todevelopscience,industry,agriculture,defence).Debatewasallowedaslongas
thePartywasnotquestioned.
Inthisnewandliberatingclimate,asatthetimeoftheMayFourthmovement60yearsearlier,therewas
an exciting explosion of new ideas. On 5 December 1978, a wall-poster, ‘The Fifth Modernisation
proclaimed that without Democracy the other modernisations would come to nothing. It went on to
criticisetheCCPfornotsolvingtheproblemofpovertyorendingsexualexploitation,evencitingcases
ofsuchabusefromwithintheParty.
Thesedemandsweresuppressed,butin1989ontheseventiethanniversaryoftheMayFourthmovement
many intellectualscalled for a greater openness and an end toossified dogmas (su shaozhi). Student
demonstrators at Tiananmen Square in Beijing were brutally repressed. This was strongly condemned
aroundtheworld.
Afterthe1978Reforms,theChinesewereabletobuyconsumergoodsfreely.
Thepost-reformperiodhasseentheemergenceofdebatesonwaystodevelopChina.Thedominantview
supportedbythePartyisbasedonstrongpoliticalcontrol,economicliberalisationandintegrationinto
theworldmarket.Criticsarguethatincreasinginequalitiesbetweensocialgroups,betweenregionsand
between men and women arecreating social tensions,and question theheavy emphasison the market.
Finally,thereisagrowingrevivalofearlierso-called‘traditional’ideas,ofConfucianismandarguments
thatChinacanbuildamodernsocietyfollowingitsowntraditionsratherthansimplycopyingtheWest.
TheStoryofTaiwan
ChiangKai-shek,defeatedbytheCCPfledin1949toTaiwanwithoverUS$300millioningoldreserves
andcratesofpricelessarttreasuresandestablishedtheRepublicofChina.TaiwanhadbeenaJapanese
colonysincetheChinesecededitafterthe1894-95warwithJapan.TheCairoDeclaration(1943)and
thePotsdamProclamation(1949)restoredsovereigntytoChina.
MassivedemonstrationsinFebruary1947hadledtheGMDtobrutallykillawholegenerationofleading
figures.TheGMD,underChiangKai-shekwentontoestablisharepressivegovernmentforbiddingfree
speechandpoliticalopposition and excludingthe localpopulation frompositionsofpower. However,
theycarriedoutlandreformsthatincreasedagriculturalproductivityandmodernisedtheeconomysothat
by1973TaiwanhadaGNPsecondonlytothatofJapaninAsia.Theeconomy,largelydependentontrade
has been steadily growing, but what is important is that the gap between the rich and poor has been
steadilydeclining.
EvenmoredramatichasbeenthetransformationofTaiwanintoademocracy.Itbeganslowly afterthe
death of Chiang in 1975 and grew in momentum when martial law was lifted in 1987 and opposition
partieswerelegallypermitted.ThefirstfreeelectionsbegantheprocessofbringinglocalTaiwaneseto
power.DiplomaticallymostcountrieshaveonlytrademissionsinTaiwan.Fulldiplomaticrelationsand
embassiesarenotpossibleasTaiwanisconsideredtobepartofChina.
Thequestionofre-unificationwiththemainlandremainsacontentiousissuebut“CrossStrait”relations
(that is between Taiwan and China) have been improving and Taiwanese trade and investments in the
mainland are massive and travel has also become easier. China may be willing to tolerate a semi-
autonomousTaiwanaslongasitgivesupanymovetoseekindependence.
TwoRoadstoModernisation
Industrialsocietiesfarfrombecominglikeeachotherhavefoundtheirownpathstobecomingmodern.
ThehistoriesofJapanandChinashowhowdifferenthistoricalconditionsledthemonwidelydivergent
pathstobuildingindependentandmodernnations.Japanwassuccessfulinretainingitsindependenceand
usingtraditionalskillsandpracticesinnewways.However,itselite-drivenmodernisationgeneratedan
aggressive nationalism, helped to sustain a repressive regime that stifled dissent and demands for
democracy,andestablishedacolonialempirethatleftalegacyofhatredintheregionaswellasdistorted
internaldevelopments.
JapansprogrammeofmodernisationwascarriedoutinanenvironmentdominatedbyWesternimperial
powers. While it imitated them it also attempted to find its own solutions. Japanese nationalism was
marked by these different compulsions – while many Japanese hoped to liberate Asia from Western
domination,forotherstheseideasjustifiedbuildinganempire.
Itisimportanttonotethatthetransformationofsocialandpoliticalinstitutionsanddailylifewasnotjust
a questionof revivingtraditions,or tenaciouslypreservingthem,butratherof creativelyusingthemin
new and different ways. For instance, the Meiji school system, modelled on European and American
practices, introduced new subjects but the curriculum’s main objective was to make loyal citizens. A
courseonmoralsthatstressedloyaltytotheemperorwascompulsory.Similarly,changesinthefamilyor
indailylifeshowhowforeignandindigenousideaswerebroughttogethertocreatesomethingnew.
TheChinesepathtomodernisationwasverydifferent.Foreignimperialism,bothWesternandJapanese,
combinedwithahesitantandunsureQingdynastytoweakengovernmentcontrolandsetthestagefora
breakdownofpoliticalandsocialorderleadingtoimmensemiseryformostofthepeople.Warlordism,
banditryandcivilwarexactedaheavytollonhumanlives,asdidthesavageryoftheJapaneseinvasion.
Naturaldisastersaddedtothisburden.
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw a rejection of traditions and a search for ways to build
nationalunityandstrength.TheCCPanditssupportersfoughttoputanendtotradition,whichtheysawas
keeping the masses in poverty, the women subjugated and the country undeveloped. While calling for
power to the people, it built a highly centralised state. The success of the Communist programme
promisedhopebutitsrepressivepoliticalsystemturnedtheidealsofliberationandequalityintoslogans
to manipulate the people. Yet it did remove centuries-old inequalities, spread education and raise
consciousnessamongthepeople.
The Party has now carried out market reforms and has been successful in making China economically
powerful but its political system continues to be tightly controlled. The society now faces growing
inequalities, as well as a revival of traditions long suppressed. This new situation again poses the
questionofhowChinacandevelopwhileretainingitsheritage.
Exercises
Answerinbrief
1. What were the major developments before the Meiji restoration that made it possible for Japan to
moderniserapidly?
2.DiscusshowdailylifewastransformedasJapandeveloped.
3.HowdidtheQingdynastytryandmeetthechallengeposedbytheWesternpowers?
4.WhatwereSunYat-sensThreePrinciples?
Answerinashortessay
5.DidJapanspolicyofrapidindustrialisation leadto warswith itsneighboursand destructionofthe
environment?
6.DoyouthinkthatMaoZedongandtheCommunistPartyofChinaweresuccessfulinliberatingChina
andlayingthebasisforitscurrentsuccess?
Conclusion
ThisbookonThemesofWorldHistoryhastakenyouacrossvast
stretchesoftime–ancient,medieval,modern.Ithasfocusedon
someofthemoreprominentthemesofhumanevolutionanddevelopment.Eachsectionhascoveredthe
following,increasinglyforeshortened,periods:
Ic.6mya–400bce
IIbce400–1300ce
III800–1700ce
IV1700–2000ce
Although historians tend to specialise in ancient, medieval and modern periods, the historians craft
displayscertaincommonfeaturesandpredicaments.Wehaveattemptedtonuancethedistinctionbetween
ancient,medievalandmoderninordertoconveyaholisticideaofhowhistoryiswrittenanddiscussed
asalsotoequipyouwithanoverallunderstandingofhumanhistorythatgoeswellbeyondourmodern
roots.
ThebookwouldhaveallowedyouaglimpseintothehistoryofAfrica,WestandCentralAsia,EastAsia,
Australia, North and South America and Europe including the United Kingdom. It would have
familiarised you with what may be called the ‘case study method. Instead of burdening you with
enormous detail about the history of all these places, we felt it would be better to examine key
illustrationsofcertainphenomenaindetail.
World history can be written in many ways. One of these, perhaps the oldest, is to focus on contact
between peoples to stress the interconnectedness of cultures and civilisations and to explore the
multifariousdimensionsofworldhistoricalchange.Analternativeistoidentifyrelativelyself-contained
–thoughexpanding–regionsofeconomicexchangethatsustainedcertainformsofcultureandpower.A
third method specifies differences in the historicalexperience of nations and regions to highlight their
distinctive characteristics. You would have found traces of each of these approaches in the book. But
differencesbetweensocieties(andindividuals)gohandinhandwith
similarities. Interlinkages, connections and similarities among human communities always existed. The
interplayoftheglobalandthelocal(‘theworldinagrainofsand’),themainstream’andthe‘marginal’,
thegeneralandthespecific,whichyouwouldhavegleanedfromthisbook,areafascinatingaspectofthe
studyofhistory.
OuraccountbeganfromscatteredsettlementsinAfrica,AsiaandEurope.Fromtherewemovedontocity
lifeinMesopotamia.EarlyempireswerecreatedaroundcitiesinMesopotamia,Egypt,China,Persiaand
India.Empiresofgreaterextentfollowedthem –theGreek(Macedonian),Roman,Araband (fromthe
1200s)theMongol.Tradingoperations,technologyand governmentwere oftenhighlyintricateinthese
empires.Veryoften,theywerebasedoneffectiveuseofawrittenlanguage.
A new era in human history took shape as a consequence of a combination of technological and
organisationalchangesthatoccurredinWesternEuropeinthemiddleofthesecondmillenniumce(from
the1400sonwards).ThesewerelinkedtotheRenaissance’orrebirthofcivilisation,whoseprimary
impact was felt in the cities of northern Italy, but whose influence spread quickly over Europe. This
Renaissancewastheproductoftheregionscitylife,andofextensiveinteractionswithByzantiumandthe
MuslimworldoftheMediterranean.Overtime,ideasanddiscoverieswerecarriedtotheAmericasby
explorersandconquerors,inthesixteenthcenturyce.SomeofthesenotionswerecarriedlatertoJapan,
Indiaandelsewhereaswell.
Europeanpre-eminenceinglobaltrade,politicsand culturedidnot comeatthistime. Itwastobe the
feature oftheeighteenth and nineteenthcenturies,when the IndustrialRevolution took place inBritain,
andspreadtoEurope.Britain,FranceandGermanywereabletocreatesystemsofcolonialcontrolover
partsofAfricaandAsia–systemsmoreintenseandpowerfulthanthoseofearlierempires.Bythemid-
twentiethcentury,thetechnology,economiclifeandculturethathadoncemadeEuropeanstatespowerful
hadbeenreworkedintherestoftheworldtocreatethefoundationsofmodernlife.
Youmusthavenoticedpassagesquotedinthevariouschaptersofthebook.Manyoftheseareextractsfor
what historians call ‘primary sources’. Scholars construct history from such materials, drawing their
‘facts’fromthem.Theycriticallyevaluatethesematerialsandareattentivetotheirambiguities.Different
historians may use a given source-material to advance vastly different, even contradictory arguments
about historical phenomena. As with the other human sciences, history can be made to speak to us in
varied voices. This is because of the intricate relationship between the historians reasoning and
historicalfacts.
InyourfinalyearatschoolyouwillbestudyingaspectsofIndian(orSouthAsian)historyfromHarappan
times to the makingofmodern India’s Constitution. Again, the emphasiswill be on ajudiciousmix of
political, economic, social and cultural history, inviting you to engage with chosen themes through the
case-studymethod.Wehopethesebookswillhelpyouformulateyourownanswerstosomanyquestions,
abovealltothequestion,‘WhystudyHistory?Doyouknowthegiftedmedievalist,MarcBloch,began
hisbook,TheHistoriansCraft,writteninthetrenchesduringtheSecondWorldWar,byrecallingayoung
boysquestion,‘Tellme,Daddy.Whatistheuseofhistory?’